The Arab Film Club

The Arab Film Club is a community-led platform founded by Sarah Agha to showcase exceptional cinema from the Arab world.

Our Story

The Arab Film Club grew out of an Arab play reading club founded during lockdown in July 2020. Over the course of a year we read theatre texts by a variety of Arab writers – everything from adaptations of the 8th Century Arabian Nights to innovative theatre from the Egyptian 1920s, Syrian 1950s to the Palestinian revolutionary Ghassan Kanafani and contemporary plays published by the diaspora.

It was an empowering space for us to come together and explore texts from our region, especially whilst theatres across the country were shuttered due to lockdown. After a few sessions, and the realisation that the Arab world has so much to offer in terms of art and culture, we decided to expand into cinema. Once theatres and venues reopened we wound down the play readings… but the film club lived on!

How does it work?

Each month we pick a different title written and directed by an Arab filmmaker. The sessions are either held online (we watch the chosen film in our own time and then meet virtually to share our responses) or held in person at a screening we host ourselves. We also organise group trips to attend events organised by other Arab film festivals which is usually followed by a social to discuss and network. So far we have watched and discussed films from Algeria, Egypt, the occupied Golan Heights, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Tunisia. And the list will go on as the group and community continue to expand.

Can I join?

Yes! All sessions are informal and inclusive.
You don’t necessarily need to identify as Arab to join in or to be working in the film industry. All professions, creeds and ethnicities welcome – just bring an interest or appreciation for Arab cinema. Ahlan wa sahlan!

Gallery

Our Shorts Film Screening, Close Up Cinema-1

Panel Q&A at The Garden Cinema for Mukhrijat

Our Shorts Screening for Refugee Week

Online Zoom Discussion on Divine Intervention Film

Dinner post Alam Screening

Arab Film Club members at Mukhrijat at The Garden Cinema

Filmmakers and Actors following our Members Screening at The Garden Cinema

Salma's Home Screening + Q&A

Arab Film Club members at the Safar screening of 'Alam'

Feature on the Arab Film Club - CNN Arabic

Interview for the Southbank Centre

Feature and interview in The New Arab

Feature Films

In alphabetical order, here are the features we have watched as part of The Arab Film Club so far…

200 Metres – Ameen Nayfeh (Palestine, 2020)
Alam – Firas Khoury (Palestine, 2022)
Alexandria… Why? – Youssef Chahine (Egypt, 1978)
Animalia – Sofia Alaouii (Morocco, 2023)
Bab’Aziz – Nacer Khemir (Tunisia, 2005)
Cairo 678 – Mohamed Diab (Egypt, 2010)
Captain Abu Raed – Amin Matalqa (Jordan, 2007)
Costa, Brava Lebanon – Mounia Akl (Lebanon, 2021)
Damascus with Love – Mohamad Abdulaziz (Syria, 2010)
Divine Intervention – Elia Suleiman (Palestine, 2002)
Farha – Darin J. Sallam (Jordan, 2021)
Headbang Lullaby – Hisham Lasri (Morocco, 2017)
Leila and The Wolves – Heiny Srour (Lebanon, 1982)
Memory Box – Joana Hadjithomas / Khalil Joreige (Lebanon, 2021)
Papicha – Mounia Meddour (Algeria, 2019)
Rock The Casbah – Laïla Marrakchi (Morocco, 2013)
Son of Babylon – Mohamed Al-Daradji (Iraq, 2009)
The Alleys – Bassel Ghandour (Jordan, 2021)
The Dupes – Tewfik Saleh- (Palestinian story, Egyptian director, 1972)
The Man Who Sold His Skin – Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisian director, 2020)
Salma’s Home – Hanadi Elyan (Jordan, 2022)
The Silences of The Palace – Moufida Tlatli (Tunisia, 1994)
The Stranger – Ameer Fakher Eldin (Golan Heights, 2021)
The Time That Remains – Elia Suleiman (Palestine, 2009)
Wadjda – Haifaa al-Mansour (Saudi Arabia, 2012)
Wajib – Annemarie Jacir (Palestine, 2017)
Where Do We Go Now – Nadine Labaki (Lebanon, 2011)
You Will Die At Twenty – Amjad Abu Alala (Sudan, 2019)

Short Films

We have hosted 7 sold-out short film screenings. Here’s some highlights…

Arab Shorts at The Close-Up Cinema, July 2022

– Yuluu by our own member Libyan filmmaker Fatima Kried – 3’
– The Crossing by Ameen Nayfeh (Palestine) – 10′
– Abdullah and Leilah by Ashtar Al Khirsan (UK) – 19’
– Sous Les Soutanes by Michel Zarazir (Lebanon) – 20’
– CAI – BER by Ahmed Abdelsalam / Ahmed Hosny (Egypt) – 17’
– Al-Sit by Suzannah Mirghani (Sudan) – 20’
– Maradona’s Legs by Firas Khoury (Palestine) – 23’

This event was funded by The Grand Plan scheme.

Refugee Week at The Southbank Centre, June 2023.

The Arab Film Club was invited to collaborate with Counterpoint Arts to curate a screening of short films for 300 people at London’s prestigious Southbank Centre. We screened three titles by Arab filmmakers – Hassan Akkad (Matar), Soudade Kaadan (Aziza) and Laith Elzubaidi (Panic!) – and also screened two shorts from Afghanistan (Yellow by Elham Ehsas) and South Africa (Address Unknown by Anton Fisher). The screening was followed by a lively Q&A.

What our members say...

“The Arab Film Club has been a life changing community for me. Through such an inclusive and engaging group I have made new friends and met industry professionals. I also explored films and
my culture in new ways – it is great to be part of something so rewarding.”

Safia Lamrani

“The Arab Film Club offers the opportunity to meet with creatives from similar backgrounds who have had challenges of inclusion in the industry but also the chance to stay active in a highly competitive profession. I find not only the sense of community it brings important, but also the regular opportunities it brings to place Arab and North African stories into
the forefront incredibly vital.”

Amir El Masry

“Enlightening, enjoyable and educational joy. It’s also wonderful to have a community of like minded individuals sharing the commonality of our heritage through what we love most – the arts!”

Waleed El Gadi

“Farha was an incredibly powerful film and one that I was extremely grateful to experience as part of a large audience. I think the collective reactions throughout the film really helped process what was happening; I didn’t feel dispirited and isolated – I felt righteous anger and collective grief. It reminded me why it’s so important that these films are seen amongst community. And the Q&A with Darin was brilliant!”

Laith Elzubaidi

Up Next...

The Arab Film Club Podcast launches 1st May. Series 1 : Palestinian Cinema.

5 interviews with 5 pioneering Palestinian directors about their multi award winning feature films.

The 5 episodes will drop biweekly from
1st May at 6pm. That’s every second
Wednesday until 26th June on Spotify,
Apple Podcasts and Podbean.

For more information : www.thearabfilmclub.podbean.com