ACC at the Berlinale for the 9th consecutive year

The Arab Cinema Center (ACC) is set to participate in the activities of the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), which will be running from February 16th to the 26th, along with 20 of its partners, which include film organizations and other international film festivals.

The ACC's booth will be located in Stand No. 136 of the Marriott Hotel.

Additionally, the ACC will participate in the Berlinale's European Film Market (EFM).

The partners accompanying the ACC at the Berlinale include ARAB CINEMA IN SWEDEN (Sweden), BEIRUT CINEMA PLATFORM (Lebanon), CAIRO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Egypt), European Film Promotion (France), FESTIVAL SCOPE (digital partner) (France), FILM CLINIC (Egypt), FILMLAB: PALESTINE (Palestine), GEMINI AFRICA (Egypt), the IEFTA, LAGOONIE FILM PRODUCTION (Egypt), MAD CELEBRITY (Egypt, UAE, Portugal), MAD DISTRIBUTION (Egypt, UAE, Portugal), MAD SOLUTIONS (Egypt, UAE, Portugal), MALMO ARAB FILM FESTIVAL (MAFF) (Sweden), NEOM (industry partner) (Saudi Arabia), ROWAD MEDIA (Saudi Arabia), TELESCOPE (US), THE IMAGINARIUM FILMS (Jordan), THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER (media partner) (US), and THE FILM VERDICT (reviews partner) (Saudi Arabia).

The ACC will also be launching the 18th issue of its Arab Cinema Magazine during the activities of the Berlinale. The issue is expected to feature an introduction to the 28 newest members of the voting committee for the Critics Awards for Arab Films, which debuted in 2017 at the Cannes International Film Festival and includes 191 critics from 72 countries worldwide.

Moreover, the issue will be picking up where it left off in terms of celebrating Palestinian cinema and influential Arab female filmmakers, and shedding light on significant Arab films featuring in international festivals in the 2023 winter festival run (Berlin, Rotterdam, andSundance), as well as a statistical report on the Arab film industry's developments over the last five years in terms of revenues, box office, theaters, film production, and paid platforms.

In other news, 11 Arab films will be competing in various categories and competitions in this year’s Berlinale, including Amr Gamal's THE BURDENED; Heba Khaled, Talal Derki, andAli Wajeeh's UNDER THE SKY OF of DAMASCUS; Antoine Bourges's CONCRETE VALLEY; Walid Raad's COMRADE LEADER, COMRADE LEADER, HOW NICE TO SEE YOU; Jasmina Metwaly and Alaa Abdulatif's ON THIS SHORE, HERE; Michelle and Noel Keserwany's LES CHENILLES, Assem Hendawi's SIMIA: STRATAGEM FOR UNDESTINING; Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche's THE TEMPLE WOODS GANG; Yazan Rabee's BACK; Tamer El-Said's BORROWING A FAMILY ALBUM; and Lea Najjar's KASH KASH.

Eight Arab filmmakers will also be taking part in the Berlin Talents Program, which are Adolf El-Assal (Egypt), Sameh Alaa (Egypt), Kesmat El-Sayed (Egypt), Zoulikha Tahar (Algeria), Ali Kareem (Iraq), Bilal Athimni (Tunisia), Samer Bisharat (Palestine), and Tariq Abdalla (Egypt).

Finally, the FIPRESCI’s jury will include the film critics Hosam Fahmy (Egypt). Ayten Amin will also serve on the jury for the GWFF Best First Feature Award.

The Arab Cinema Center

Founded by MAD Solutions in 2015, the ACC is a non-profit organization, which promotes Arab cinema and provides a professional window to connect film professionals with their counterparts from all over the world through a number of events that it organizes.

The ACC provides networking opportunities with representatives of companies and institutions specialized in co-production and international distribution, among others. Its activities also vary between film markets, stands, pavilions, networking sessions, one-on-one meetings bringing together Arab and foreign filmmakers, welcome parties, meetings with international organizations and festivals, and the issuance of the Arab Cinema Magazine to be distributed at leading international film festivals and markets.

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

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