The seventh edition of the Arab Film Festival in Zurich kicks off on 2 April, with the festival spread throughout the year for the first time, having previously been held every two years. The competition programme features 12 feature films, as well as six documentaries, and two awards for best film and best director will be presented during the closing ceremony on 6 April.
The jury includes Tunisian actress and director Afaf Ben Mahmoud, Swiss director Nicolas Vadimov, and American film critic Jay Weissberg. After reviewing numerous submissions, five Egyptian productions were selected to participate in this year's festival, three feature films, including Samar Before the Last Picture, which highlights the stories of women survivors of assault and abuse and is directed by Ayatollah Youssef. In addition, there is Amir Youssef's ‘Dawn Every Day’ and Khaled Mansour's ‘Looking for Mr Rambo's Exit’.
The short documentary ‘Huda, mother on Hold’, directed by Rabel Ramez Arian, and the documentary ‘I found my love in Massra’, directed by Stephanie Amin, are also in the festival.
The festival will also feature around 30 short films and 12 feature films from different countries, with a focus on films from Sudan and Saudi Arabia, with panel discussions with industry professionals to discuss the challenges and opportunities of filmmaking in these countries.
New this year is an Animation Lab, where a jury will evaluate animated film projects at the production stage. An ‘Audience Award’ will also be awarded for the most popular films, with the winners having the opportunity to receive a dinner invitation at a Lebanese restaurant in Zurich.
Around 20 filmmakers from the Arab world and 10 other guests from Switzerland and beyond are expected to participate in the festival, which also subsidises free entry for refugees and undocumented migrants
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