The sixth edition of the Jerusalem Arab Cinema Festival will take place from July 28 to August 2, following the festival's announcement of its full film program and jury lineups. This edition carries the theme "Life and Continuity," a message of resilience affirming the role art plays in confronting the challenges facing the region.
This year, the festival hosts a diverse lineup of leading Arab productions, distributed across three main categories — feature films, documentaries, and short films — reflecting the richness of creative traditions and the diversity of cinematic voices across the Arab world.
Strong Tunisian Presence in the Feature Film Competition
This year's feature film competition brings together seven Arab and European co-productions in a tight race, with this edition marked by a notable Tunisian presence through two films: "Where the Wind Takes Us" by Tunisian director Amel Guellaty, and "Ightirab" (Exile) by Tunisian director Mehdi Hmili.
The competing lineup also includes "A Sitting Dog" by Sarah Francis from Lebanon, "In Our Imagination... Love" by Sarah Rizk from Egypt, "Zanka Malaga" by Maryam Touzani from Morocco, "Arkalla: Gilgamesh's Dream" by Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji from Iraq and the Netherlands, and "Cotton Queen" by Suzannah Mirghani from Sudan and Russia.
Juries With Diverse Arab and Academic Expertise
The festival's management has assigned its juries across the three competitions, with each panel bringing together a select group of Arab filmmakers and critics.
The feature film jury includes Tunisian researcher and critic Lamia Belkaid Guiga, former artistic director of the Carthage Film Festival (JCC), alongside Palestinian actress and director Areen Omari, and Egyptian critic Mohamed Nabil, an Arab film programmer and director of the Arab Cinema Horizons competition at the Cairo International Film Festival.
The documentary jury is composed of Jerusalem-based director Mahasen Nasser-Eldin, Jordanian journalist and critic Israa Al-Radaydeh, and Palestinian director Ahmad Ghossein.
The short film jury includes Moroccan director Ghita Amrati, who specializes in animated films, alongside Lebanese producer Jana Wehbe, and Lebanese screenwriter and director Marie Rose Osta.
Through this distinguished Tunisian presence in the official competition, Tunisian cinema once again affirms its standing within the Arab cinematic landscape, as film lovers eagerly await this edition's events, which promise a wealth of outstanding works and rich discussions on the state and future of Arab cinema.
