The Arab Cinema Center (ACC) has revealed the final nominees for its 3rd Annual Critics Awards, which were selected by 75 film critics from 34 countries from all over the world. The critics viewed Arab feature and documentary films produced in 2018 on Festival Scope. The winners will be announced on the sidelines of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25).

The Arab Cinema Center published a video announcing the final nominees for its 3rd Annual Critics Awards. To watch the video, please follow this link: https://youtu.be/VrlhWDwyt0g


Film Analyst Alaa Karkouti, Managing Partner of the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) and CEO of MAD Solutions, comments on the nominees of the 3rd Annual Critics Awards, saying, "Every year, the number of the film critics, who are jury members of the Annual Critics Awards, from inside and outside the Arab world increases. They come together to view the best Arab feature and documentary film productions, which makes us achieve our goal of promoting Arab film content to critics from different nationalities and backgrounds, especially that the majority of them don't get the chance to watch all the Arab films that get selected at international film festivals."

Film Critic Ahmed Shawky,Manager of the Critics Awards, says, "All six categories have seen strong competition during the first phase of voting in this edition, and we faced great difficulty selecting the three finalists in each category. This doesn't only reveal the high level of competitionthat is expected to take place during the final phase of voting, but it also indicates the increasing growth in the Arab filmmaking industry during last year, which resulted in this number of exceptional films. It was a hot year full of several Arab films that got selected, competed and won numerous international awards at many film festivals in 2018."

The Final List of Nominees are:


Best Documentary:

Of Fathers and Sons | Directed by Talal Derki | Syria
Erased, ___ Ascent of the Invisible| Directed by Ghassan Halwani | Lebanon
Chaos | Directed by Sara Fatahy | Lebanon - Syria


Best Actress:

Maha Alemi | Sofia | Morocco
Maryhan Magdy | Poisonous Roses | Egypt
Sarah Layssac | Divine Wind | Algeria


Best Actor:

Mohamed Dhrif | Weldi | Tunisia
Ahmed Hafiane | Fatwa | Tunisia
Zain Al Rafeea | Capharnaum | Lebanon


Best Screenplay:

Meryem Benm'Barek | Sofia | Morocco
Yomeddine | Abu Bakr Shawky | Egypt
Rami Alayan | The Reports On Sarah And Saleem | Palestine


Best Director:

Abu Bakr Shawky | Yomeddine | Egypt
Nadine Labaki | Capharnaum | Lebanon
Hicham Lasri | Jahilya | Morocco


Best Film:

Yomeddine | Director: Abu Bakr Shawky | Egypt
Capharnaum | Director: Nadine Labaki | Lebanon
The Reports on Sarah and Saleem | Director: Muayad Alayan | Palestine

The 1st Annual Critics Awards was launched on the margins of 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 Documentary Film, Best Director, Best Writer, Best Actress and Best Actor. For the first time in the Arab cinema history, the jury committee brings together 76 of the most prominent Arab and international film critics from 33 countries from all over the world this year.

The final list of the 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 2018, and at least one of the production companies must be Arab (regardless of the size of its contribution to the production of the film), in addition, the films must be feature-length films (fiction or documentary).

Organized by MAD Solutions, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) celebrates its fifth year since its inception in 2015. A nonprofit organization registered in Amsterdam, the 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 ACC'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's 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.

The Arab Cinema Center announced the launch of the MAD 3ARABI (Arab Flow) in Prague, Czech Republic. The festival aims to introduce the Arab culture and focus on the film and TV industry, flowing Arab entertainment and culture onto European shores, and also providing an extension for Arab filmmakers and content creators in the entertainment industry to reach new shores.