On its Facebook page, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) has released a teaser promo for the 2nd Annual Critics Awards nominations, whose final list is going to be announced tomorrow, Monday, April 23. The promo features the six Arab filmmakers who are going to participate in the announcement of the final nominees; Jordanian actress Saba Mubarak, Tunisian actor Dhafer L’Abidine, Egyptian producer and screenwriter Mohamed Hefzy, President of the Cairo International Film Festival, Egyptian producer and director Marianne Khoury, President of the Panorama of the European Film, Iraqi filmmaker Intishal Al Timimi, Director of El Gouna Film Festival, and Egyptian director and screenwriter Mohamed Diab.

Promo link: https://www.facebook.com/ArabCinemaCenter/videos/1908501235888650/

The 2nd Annual Critics Awards nominations were selected by 62 film critics from 28 countries around the world through voting. The critics viewed Arab feature and documentary films produced in 2017 on Festival Scope website, a partner of the Arab Cinema Center. The winners are going to be announced during the 71st Cannes Film Festival (May 8-19).

The 1st Annual Critics Awards was held within the 70th Cannes Film Festival. The awards are given to the best Arab film productions every year in the following categories: Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Actor, in addition to the new category, Best Documentary Film.

The final list of nominees for the Critics Awards were selected according to the following criteria: the films must have been premiered at international film festivals outside of the Arab world during 2017, and at least one of the production companies must be Arab (regardless of the size of its contribution in the production of the film), in addition to that the films must be feature-length films (fiction or documentary).

The new issue of the Arab Cinema Magazine, published by the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), is going to feature an article on the 2nd Annual Critics Awards covering everything about the film critics with a guide to the nominated films and their makers.

List of critics appointed for nominating and selecting the winners of the Annual Critics’ Awards (in alphabetical order):

Abdelkarim Ouakrim | Morocco, Abdelkarim Kadri | Algeria, Abdul Sattar Naji | Kuwait, Ahmed Shawky | Egypt, Ali Wajeeh | Syria, Alin TAŞÇIYAN | Turkey, Amber Wilkinson | UK, Andrew Mohsen | Egypt, Ásgeir H. Ingólfsson | Iceland, Czech Republic, Carmen Gray | New Zealand, Chris Newbould | UK, Deborah Young | USA, Dragan Rubesa | Croatia, Emad El Nouwairy | Kuwait, Erfan Rashid | Iraq, Italy, Fionnuala Haligan |UK, Gautaman Bhaskaran | India, Giona A. Nazzaro | Switzerland, Hammadi Gueroum | Morocco, Harri Römpötti | Finland, Hassan Haddad | Bahrain, Hassouna Mansouri | Tunisia, Hauvick Habéchian | Lebanon, Houda Ibrahim | Lebanon, France, Husam Asi | Palestine, UK, Ibrahim Alariss | Lebanon, Ikbal Zalila | Tunisia, Jay Weissberg | USA, Jim Quilty | Canada/Beirut, Kadhum Saloom | Iraq, Kais Kassem | Iraq, Sweden, Kaleem Aftab | UK, Khaled Mahmoud | Egypt, Khalid Ali | Sudan/UK, Khalil Demmoun | Morocco, Kiva Reardon | Canada, Magdy Eltayeb | Egypt, Mahmoud Mahdy | Egypt, Massimo Lechi | Italy, Mohamed Atef | Egypt, Mohamed Hashem Abdelsalam | Egypt, Mohamed Benaziz | Morocco, Mohammed Boughalleb | Tunisia, Mohammed Chouika | Morocco, Mohammed Rouda | Lebanon/UK, Nabil Hadji | Algeria, Nadim Jarjoura | Lebanon, Nageh Hassan | Jordan, Ola Kamel Al-Sheikh | Palestine, UAE, Ola Shafey | Egypt, Olivier Barlet | France, Ossama Abdel Fattah | Egypt, Pamela Biénzobas | Chile/France, Ramy Abd El Razek | Egypt, Rasha Hosny | Egypt, Ronnit Hasson | Sweden, Safaa Jibara Al-saleh | Iraq, UK, Sydney J. Levine | USA, Tarek Ben Chaabane | Tunisia, Tarek El Shinnawi | Egypt, Youssef Cherif Rizkallah | Egypt, Ziad Khuzai | Iraq, UK.

Organized by MAD Solutions in 2015, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) is an international promotional platform for Arab cinema as it provides the filmmaking industry with a professional window to connect with their counterparts from all over the world through a number of events that it organizes. The ACC also provides networking opportunities with representatives of companies and institutions specialized in co-production and international distribution, among others. The Center's activities vary between film market main wings, introduction and networking sessions for Arab and foreign filmmakers, welcome parties, as well as meetings with international organizations and festivals, and the issuance of the Arab Cinema Magazine to be distributed at the leading international film festivals and markets.

Furthermore, newsletter subscription is now available on the ACC's website, allowing users to obtain digital copies of the Arab Cinema Magazine, as well as news on the ACC's activities, notifications of application dates for grants, festivals and offers from educational and training institutions, updates on Arab films participating at festivals, exclusive news on the Arab Cinema LAB, and highlights from the ACC partners and their future projects.

The ACC also launched an English-language Arab Cinema Guide, available on its website, which is a comprehensive cinematic guide that comprises a variety of tools presented collectively for the first time to offer information on Arab cinema to filmmakers inside and outside of the Arab world. It also aims to facilitate filmmakers' access to international markets and help film industry representatives to easily identify Arab film productions.