Mohamed Kordofani’s Goodbye Julia and Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters lead the nominations for the 8th Critics Awards for Arab Films, which will be held during the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.
Both features picked up seven nominations apiece for the awards, focused on Arab films that were produced and premiered outside of the Arab world in 2023. Overseen and run by the Cairo-based Arab Cinema Centre (Acc), it was voted on by 209 critics from 72 countries and the winners will be announced during Cannes on May 18.
Scroll down for full list of nominations
This year’s nominees range from Sudan,...
Both features picked up seven nominations apiece for the awards, focused on Arab films that were produced and premiered outside of the Arab world in 2023. Overseen and run by the Cairo-based Arab Cinema Centre (Acc), it was voted on by 209 critics from 72 countries and the winners will be announced during Cannes on May 18.
Scroll down for full list of nominations
This year’s nominees range from Sudan,...
- 4/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
‘Four Daughters’ & ‘Goodbye Julia’ Lead Nominations For 8th Edition Of Critics Awards For Arab Films
Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated documentary Four Daughters and Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s Lupita Nyong’o-EPed drama Goodbye Julia lead the nominations in the eighth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films.
Hybrid work Four Daughters, exploring the story of a real-life Tunisian mother who lost two of her daughters to Isis after they were radicalized by a local preacher, world premiered in Competition in Cannes last year.
The film won Cannes’ Golden Eye for Best Documentary and also went on to be nominated for Best Documentary at the 2024 Academy Awards.
Kordofani’s Khartoum-set drama Goodbye Julia was also at Cannes in 2023, making history as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival across its 76 editions, with a debut in Un Certain Regard. It represented Sudan at in the 2023-24 Oscar race but was not nominated.
Set against the backdrop of the 2011 South Sudan Independence referendum,...
Hybrid work Four Daughters, exploring the story of a real-life Tunisian mother who lost two of her daughters to Isis after they were radicalized by a local preacher, world premiered in Competition in Cannes last year.
The film won Cannes’ Golden Eye for Best Documentary and also went on to be nominated for Best Documentary at the 2024 Academy Awards.
Kordofani’s Khartoum-set drama Goodbye Julia was also at Cannes in 2023, making history as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival across its 76 editions, with a debut in Un Certain Regard. It represented Sudan at in the 2023-24 Oscar race but was not nominated.
Set against the backdrop of the 2011 South Sudan Independence referendum,...
- 4/25/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
When cinema was still banned in Saudi Arabia, Meshal Aljaser posted his short films on social media, gaining more than 200 million views. His short films “Is Sumyati Going to Hell?” and “Under Concrete” later showed on Netflix, while “Arabian Alien” won awards in Sundance and Atlanta. “Naga”, his first feature, screened in Toronto and Red Sea, and is currently streaming on Netflix.
Naga screened at Red Sea Film Festival
The movie begins with a shocking scene of violence in the 70s, which actually looms over the rest of the story, that takes place, however, in the present, and focuses on Sarah, a young woman who has received a set curfew by her father to return from her visit in the market, which is, though, just an excuse to go on a date with potential suitor Saad. The latter has plans for them to attend an underground party in honor of...
Naga screened at Red Sea Film Festival
The movie begins with a shocking scene of violence in the 70s, which actually looms over the rest of the story, that takes place, however, in the present, and focuses on Sarah, a young woman who has received a set curfew by her father to return from her visit in the market, which is, though, just an excuse to go on a date with potential suitor Saad. The latter has plans for them to attend an underground party in honor of...
- 12/20/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Meshal Al Jaser’s 2023 Netflix film, Naga, chronicled the story of Sarah (Adwa Bader), an average teenager who wanted to break free from the social constraints she was stuck in. Sarah grew up in a highly conservative Muslim family that imposed strict rules on practically everything, spanning from spending time with friends to going out shopping. As expected of their religion, Sarah was told to cover her face in a hijab and the rest of her body in a burka to avoid objections and trouble from her conservative neighbors and parents. However, the more restrictions were imposed on her, the more Sarah wanted to break the rules established by her religion.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Sarah Agree To Go To Camp With Saad?
One fine afternoon, Sarah secured permission from her father (Khalid Bin Shaddad) for a shopping retreat, but rather than picking up dresses for an upcoming wedding, she planned to do something else.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Sarah Agree To Go To Camp With Saad?
One fine afternoon, Sarah secured permission from her father (Khalid Bin Shaddad) for a shopping retreat, but rather than picking up dresses for an upcoming wedding, she planned to do something else.
- 12/10/2023
- by Rishabh Shandilya
- Film Fugitives
The urge to dazzle can be its own straitjacket, and it’s one that weighs heavily on Meshal Aljaser’s feature debut “Naga.” He aims for a hurtling virtuosity, à la “Run Lola Run,” in depicting a disobedient young Saudi woman’s extreme travails in trying to get home before her strict curfew. But that quarter-century-old German thriller’s simplicity of plot supported its hyperbolic style, while here the writer-director is so preoccupied with camera and editorial calisthenics, nothing else has a chance to come into focus. The flamboyant but hollow results feel like too conscious a calling card for a talent that next time out should embrace some restraint, not to mention substance.
A 1970 prologue of murky relevance starts things off at peak melodramatic and cinematic hysteria, as a man enters a hospital with an automatic weapon while Dp Ibraheem Alshangeeti does upside-down 360’s for no obvious reason. In the present day,...
A 1970 prologue of murky relevance starts things off at peak melodramatic and cinematic hysteria, as a man enters a hospital with an automatic weapon while Dp Ibraheem Alshangeeti does upside-down 360’s for no obvious reason. In the present day,...
- 12/7/2023
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Young Saudi director Meshal Al Jaser, who springs from the country’s vibrant YouTube scene, is making a splash with his madcap feature debut “Naga,” in which a young woman named Sara goes on a date and takes drugs in the desert. She then must overcome various obstacles, including a rabid camel, to get home before the curfew set by her punishment-prone father.
Produced by Saudi’s prominent Telfaz11 production company in tandem with Netflix, “Naga” marks the first Saudi film selected for Toronto’s Midnight Madness program and is now premiering locally to ravishing response at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah.
Born in Riyadh, Al Jaser began making films at the age of 17, during the country’s now lifted cinema ban. He spearheaded an infamous “Folaim” YouTube channel that garnered more than 200 million views.
In 2017, when Saudi Arabia revived its cinema industry and removed the ban on theaters,...
Produced by Saudi’s prominent Telfaz11 production company in tandem with Netflix, “Naga” marks the first Saudi film selected for Toronto’s Midnight Madness program and is now premiering locally to ravishing response at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah.
Born in Riyadh, Al Jaser began making films at the age of 17, during the country’s now lifted cinema ban. He spearheaded an infamous “Folaim” YouTube channel that garnered more than 200 million views.
In 2017, when Saudi Arabia revived its cinema industry and removed the ban on theaters,...
- 12/4/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has boarded Saudi Arabian multi-hyphenate Fatima Al-Banawi’s feature film debut “Basma” which tackles the theme of mental illness in her country.
The groundbreaking film is set in Jeddah, the city on the Red Sea’s eastern shore where Saudi’s Red Sea Film Festival is currently underway.
Besides writing and directing “Basma,” Al Banawi – who has a psychology degree and also a masters in theological studies from Harvard – also stars as the 26-year-old daughter of a man who suffers from paranoid delusions. Upon returning from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia, Basma tries to save him from his spiraling mental instability before being forced to leave her father again.
Al-Banawi’s first acting role was in Mahmoud Sabbagh’s groundbreaking 2016 comedy “Barakah Meets Barakah” that put her in the international spotlight after the film went to Berlin and was selected as Saudi’s international Oscar candidate.
“Basma,” which...
The groundbreaking film is set in Jeddah, the city on the Red Sea’s eastern shore where Saudi’s Red Sea Film Festival is currently underway.
Besides writing and directing “Basma,” Al Banawi – who has a psychology degree and also a masters in theological studies from Harvard – also stars as the 26-year-old daughter of a man who suffers from paranoid delusions. Upon returning from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia, Basma tries to save him from his spiraling mental instability before being forced to leave her father again.
Al-Banawi’s first acting role was in Mahmoud Sabbagh’s groundbreaking 2016 comedy “Barakah Meets Barakah” that put her in the international spotlight after the film went to Berlin and was selected as Saudi’s international Oscar candidate.
“Basma,” which...
- 12/2/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Writer/director Meshal Aljaser’s Naga had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September, and we’ve learned today that it’s now coming to Netflix.
Naga will begin streaming exclusively on Netflix Thursday, December 7.
In the Saudi genre film, “Stranded amid Riyadh’s desert dunes, Sarah, a local Saudi girl, escapes heartaches and the vengeance of a vigorous camel after discreetly sneaking out of her parent’s home for a romantic date that landed her astray.”
Adwa Bader, Khalid Bin Shaddad, Amal Alharbi and Yazeed Almajyul star.
Joe Lipsett reviewed Naga for Bloody Disgusting out of TIFF, raving: “Between the virtuoso camerawork and the ticking clock, Naga‘s closest spiritual comparison is the adrenaline rush of Run Lola Run.” Joe’s review continues, “Naga is an incredibly exciting, dynamic thriller featuring an assured performance from lead actress Adwa Bader.
“The film never shies away...
Naga will begin streaming exclusively on Netflix Thursday, December 7.
In the Saudi genre film, “Stranded amid Riyadh’s desert dunes, Sarah, a local Saudi girl, escapes heartaches and the vengeance of a vigorous camel after discreetly sneaking out of her parent’s home for a romantic date that landed her astray.”
Adwa Bader, Khalid Bin Shaddad, Amal Alharbi and Yazeed Almajyul star.
Joe Lipsett reviewed Naga for Bloody Disgusting out of TIFF, raving: “Between the virtuoso camerawork and the ticking clock, Naga‘s closest spiritual comparison is the adrenaline rush of Run Lola Run.” Joe’s review continues, “Naga is an incredibly exciting, dynamic thriller featuring an assured performance from lead actress Adwa Bader.
“The film never shies away...
- 12/1/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
The initiative celebrates Arab talent and highlights the hottest up-and-coming actors, writers and directors from the region.
Screen International has unveiled the five emerging Middle East and North Africa talents in the fields of acting and directing selected for the seventh edition of Arab Stars Of Tomorrow.
This year’s line-up comprises Adwa Bader, the actress and poet from Saudi Arabia; Jordan’s Cynthia Madanat Sharaiha, director; Egyptian writer and director Morad Mostafa; Palestinian actor Muhammad Abed El Rahman; and fellow Jordanian actress Noor Taher.
The initiative celebrates Arab talent and highlights the hottest up-and-coming actors, writers and directors who...
Screen International has unveiled the five emerging Middle East and North Africa talents in the fields of acting and directing selected for the seventh edition of Arab Stars Of Tomorrow.
This year’s line-up comprises Adwa Bader, the actress and poet from Saudi Arabia; Jordan’s Cynthia Madanat Sharaiha, director; Egyptian writer and director Morad Mostafa; Palestinian actor Muhammad Abed El Rahman; and fellow Jordanian actress Noor Taher.
The initiative celebrates Arab talent and highlights the hottest up-and-coming actors, writers and directors who...
- 12/1/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
“Your Story, Your Festival,” is the theme for this year‘s Red Sea International Film Festival, with organizers promising “a unique and powerful platform for celebrating film, connecting cultures and expanding horizons while welcoming stories from all walks of life.”
The festival’s third edition will take place Nov. 30-Dec. 9 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Alongside an international line-up that includes Michael Mann’s Ferrari, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Ava Duvernay’s Origin and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, the Red Sea festival is a showcase for new Arab cinema.
Here’s The Hollywood Reporter‘s pick of six new titles from across the region that expand the image of Arab movies, ranging from a jinn fantasy romance and a coming-of-age drama to an adventure thriller featuring a vengeance-seeking camel.
Hwjn, opening film
A local Saudi Arabian movie will raise the curtain on the Red Sea Festival for the first time this year,...
The festival’s third edition will take place Nov. 30-Dec. 9 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Alongside an international line-up that includes Michael Mann’s Ferrari, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Ava Duvernay’s Origin and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, the Red Sea festival is a showcase for new Arab cinema.
Here’s The Hollywood Reporter‘s pick of six new titles from across the region that expand the image of Arab movies, ranging from a jinn fantasy romance and a coming-of-age drama to an adventure thriller featuring a vengeance-seeking camel.
Hwjn, opening film
A local Saudi Arabian movie will raise the curtain on the Red Sea Festival for the first time this year,...
- 11/29/2023
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Writer/director Meshal Aljaser’s Naga opens with a moment of shocking violence: in 1970, a man with a gun moves through the halls of a hospital, searching for his pregnant wife. When he finds her, he murders her and the male doctor, incensed that his baby boy wasn’t delivered by a female doctor as he prescribed.
The incident hangs heavy over the entire film – in part because of the random nature of the violence, but more specifically because it is so gendered. Saudi Arabia is a deeply patriarchal society where the rules of men are paramount and the penalties for women who “misbehave” are severe.
This is certainly the experience of Sara (Adwa Bader), the daughter of an affluent and intimidatingly strict man (Khalid Bin Shaddad). In the present day, Sara is gently rebelling however she can: she smokes (discreetly) and she has a secret boyfriend, Saad (Yazeed Almajyul...
The incident hangs heavy over the entire film – in part because of the random nature of the violence, but more specifically because it is so gendered. Saudi Arabia is a deeply patriarchal society where the rules of men are paramount and the penalties for women who “misbehave” are severe.
This is certainly the experience of Sara (Adwa Bader), the daughter of an affluent and intimidatingly strict man (Khalid Bin Shaddad). In the present day, Sara is gently rebelling however she can: she smokes (discreetly) and she has a secret boyfriend, Saad (Yazeed Almajyul...
- 9/13/2023
- by Joe Lipsett
- bloody-disgusting.com
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