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As part of its third
consecutive time at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF),
the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) has revealed details on the
2nd Annual Critics Awards at a press conference that was held on
Saturday, December 9. For the first time in the Arab cinema history,
the Critics Awards brings together the most prominent Arab and foreign
critics to join its jury committee aiming to work together to select 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. The awards ceremony will be held during
the Cannes Film Festival in May 2018.
During the press
conference, Film Analyst Alaa Karkouti, Managing Partner of the Arab
Cinema Center(ACC) and CEO of MAD Solutions, presented the ACC's
achievements since its launch in 2015, in addition to its upcoming plans
for 2018 that includes attending more than 20 international film
festivals and markets with an aim to promote Arab cinema.
As part of its 2018
plans, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) is going to select Arab producers to
attend theRotterdam Lab that is held on the sidelines of
the International Film Festival Rotterdam - IFFR in Netherlands (January
24 - February 4, 2018). Moreover, the ACC opened call for applications
to Arab film projects for the MAFF - Málaga Film Festival Fund &
Co-production Event and Málaga Work In Progressthat are held within
the Málaga Film Festival in Spain (April 13-22, 2018). In cooperation
with The Hollywood Reporter, the ACC is going to present the Arab
Personality of the Year Award.
The 1st 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 Writer, Best Actress,
and Best Actor, in addition to the new category, the Best Documentary
Film. For the first time in the Arab cinema history, the jury committee
brings together 54 of the most prominent Arab and international critics
from 26 countries from all over the world. Egyptian Film Critic Ahmed
Shawky is appointed as Manager of the Critics Awards. 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 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).
Winners of the
1st Critics Awards:
Best Actor: Majd
Mastoura | Hedi | Tunisia
Best Actress: Heba
Ali | Withered Green | Egypt
Best
Screenplay: Clash | Khaled Diab and Mohamed Diab | Egypt
Best Director: Mohamed
Diab | Clash | Egypt
Best Feature Film: In
the Last Days of the City | Egypt, UAE
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. TheACC 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 ACCpartners 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.
Since the beginning of
2017, the ACC has made 22 stops at international festivals and markets.
The festivals attended are the International Film Festival of
Rotterdam (IFFR), Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), Beirut
Cinema Platform (BCP) held within the Beirut Cinema Days, Istanbul Film
Festival, Tripoli Film Festival, the 34th WIPO SCCR in Geneva, Cannes
Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Eurasia
International Film Festival, Festival del film
Locarno, VeniceInternational Film Festival, Toronto International Film
Festival, Film and Television Careers Connection(FTCC), San Sebastian
International Film Festival, Malmo Arab Film Festival, Cape Town
International Film Market & Festival (CTIFMF), Days of Cinema in
Palestine, MedFilm Festival in Italy, LatinArab Co-Production
Forum, Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Arab Cinema Week in New
York and theDubai International Film Festival (DIFF).
The 1st Critics
Awards jury committee included Egyptian film critic Samir Farid and
Palestinian film criticBashar Ibrahim, who passed away in early 2017
after they have contributed to the selection of films and filmmakers
nominated for this year's awards.
List of critics of the
1st Critics' Awards (in alphabetical order):
Abdul Sattar Naji |
Kuwait, Ahmed Shawky | Egypt , Deborah Young | USA, Dragan Rubesa |
Croatia, Erfan Rashid | Iraq, Italy, Finn Halligan |
UK , Hamadi Keroum | Morocco, Hauvick Habéchian | Lebanon, Houda
Ibrahim | Lebanon, France , Hussam Assi | Palestine, UK, Ibrahim
Al-Arees | Lebanon, Jay Weissberg | USA , Kais Kassem | Iraq,
Sweden, Khalil Demmon | Morocco, Mohammed Bougalleb | Tunisia, Mohammed
Rouda | Lebanon, Nabil Hadji | Algeria , Nadim Jarjoura | Lebanon, Ola
Al-Sheikh | Palestine, UAE, Olivier Barlet | France, Osama Abd
El-Fatah | Egypt, Sydney Levine | USA, Tarek El-Shinnawi | Egypt
and Ziad Khouzaie | Iraq, UK.
List of critics
appointed for nominating and selecting the winners of the Critics
Awards this year:
Abdelkarim Qadri |
Algeria, Ali Wajeeh | Syria, Alin TAŞÇIYAN | Turkey, Amber Wilkinson |
UK, Ásgeir H Ingólfsson | Iceland, Carmen Gray | New Zealand, Giona A.
Nazzaro | Switzerland, Harri Römpötti | Finland, Hassan Haddad |
Bahrain, Hassouna Mansouri | Tunisia, Jim Quilty | Canada/
Lebanon,Kadhum El Saloum | Iraq, Kaleem Aftab | UK, Khaled Mahmoud |
Egypt, Khalid Ali | Sudan/UK, Kiva Reardon | Canada, Magdy Eltayeb |
Egypt, Mohamed Atef | Egypt, Nageh Hassan | Jordan, Pamela Biénzobas |
Chile/France, Safaa Abusadeer | Iraq, UK, Ramy Abdel Razek |
Egypt, Mahmoud Mahdi | Egypt, Rasha Hosny | Egypt, Ola Shafey |
Egypt, Youssef Cherif Rizkallah | Egypt, Mohamed Hashem | Egypt, Emad El
Nouwairy | Kuwait, Mohamed Benaziz | Morocco and Abdelkarim Ouakrim |
Morocco. |
