The Stranger
The Stranger – الغريب
112 minutes | Palestine, Qatar, Syrian Arab Republic, Germany | 2021
The Stranger – الغريب
112 minutes | Palestine, Qatar, Syrian Arab Republic, Germany | 2021
All This Victory – جدار الصوت
93 minutes | Lebanon, France, Qatar | 2019
So We Live – لذا نعيش
16 minutes | Belgium | 2020
Searching For Amal – البحث عن أمل
29 minutes | Egypt | 2020
Erased, _ Ascent of the Invisible – رحلة صعود اللامرئي – طرس
76 minutes | Lebanon | 2018
ALNAJMA – النجمة
10 minutes | Lebanon | 2020
We Are from There – نحن من هناك
82 minutes | Lebanon, France | 2020
Gevar’s Land – أرض جيفارا
80 minutes | France | 2020
FATWA – فتوى
102 minutes | Tunisia | 2018
100 minutes | Morocco | 2019
As You Can See – زي ما انتي شايفة
7 minutes | Egypt | 2019
Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jordan, Qatar, Italy, Sweden| 96 minutes | 2020 | Fiction Read more
The film tells the story of Tawfiq, A Tunisian soldier who fought in the Bosnian war against Serbian forces. He ends up imprisoned for six years after returning to Tunisia, only to discover that his Bosnian wife has abandoned their family leaving him to care for their three daughters. He struggles daily between caring for his torn family and his need to seek revenge.
Fatma Ryahi | Tunisia | Documentary | 2018 | 90 min
Haunted by memories of his childhood in Baghdad, Abdullah suffers from dementia and struggles to communicate with his British-born daughter, Leilah. As his mind wavers between the past and the unfamiliar present, he no longer remembers the life he has lived in London for the past 60 years or the fluent English he had spoken. Leilah, who only speaks English, needs one last moment of connection with her father before she also fades from his memory.
Ashtar Al Khirsan| UK, Iraq | Fiction | 2017| 19 min
A Smuggler who only smuggles males, clandestinely attempts to smuggle three boys across the Iranian-Turkish border. In the middle of the way, he suddenly realizes that one of the passengers is a transgender person.
Mohammad Towrivarian| Iran | 2017 | Fiction | 10 min
Abdou, a 16-year old teenager, living on the outskirts of a phosphate mining town called Khouribga. His adoptive mother Mbarka, is the neighbourhood midwife and healer.
Ch’Aayba, a thirty-year-old man, uncontrollable and ferociously cynical, is an eccentric pickpocket. Suffering from a skin disease, Abdou convinces him to come see Mbarka in order to get treatment: that’s how the fate of these three will entangle.
Mohamed Zineddaine| Morocco, Italy, Qatar | Fiction | 2018| 113 min
A family from a rural area in Egypt is torn apart after a tragic accident. A mother’s search for redemption, revenge, and hope sets the events of this dramatic story of a forgotten society.
Anas Tolba| Egypt |Fiction |2019 |87 minutes
Michelle, an intellectual and writer who. Due to his ideology, in 1980’s Syria , he was arrested and placed in solitary confinement for three years. He tells us about the most difficult evening he spent in jail: the night he was moved to another cell down the hall, in order to tell a child a story.
Majd Sammouri | Jordan | Fiction | 2019 | 24 min
The film interweaves the hopes and dreams of three characters in Egypt: a son who yearns to pursue a singing career against his father’s will, a romantic Christian woman who is in love with a Muslim man, and a newly-wed personal trainer, who must compromise his principles for a chance to own a gym. Will these characters make the best choices for themselves and the people they love?
Tamer Ezzat | Egypt | Fiction| 2019 | 92 min
At almost 90 years old, Tatá and Esperanza witness the election of the first Cuban president and for the first time in a century the president elect doesn’t have the “Castro” surname.
Secluded on an islet of vegetation, like two lighthouses from a remote era, they witness the end of a political cycle between the rustle of fire and the blizzards of storms.
Luis Alejandro Yero | Spain | Documentary | 2018| 23 min
Indigo is the color given by a villages psychic to children endowed with clairvoyance. Nora, a 13-year-old girl, is confronted with the irrationality and violence of the world. Her group of friends are disturbed by her visions but seem indifferent to her suffering. Indigo tells the initiatory journey of this child in search of her own truth.
Selma Bargach | Morocco | Fiction | 2018 | 91 min
The film takes place in the streets and alleys of Taiz city. An area which has been subjected to armed targeting by groups who stand in stark opposition to the culture and nature of the city and its residents. We follow the film from the viewpoint of Anas, who, despite the liberation of “Taiz”, faces difficulties under the repressive policies deployed in Yemen.
Nashwan Sadeq| Yemen | Documentary, | 2019 | 9 min
A Palestinian man signs an online petition supporting the cultural boycott of Israel, immediately after, he is thrown into a panic-inducing spiral of self-doubt. Over the course of a conversation with a friend, he analyzes, deconstructs and interprets the meaning of his choice to publicly support the cultural boycott of Israel.
Mahdi Fleifel | UK, Germany, Switzerland | Documentary | 2018 | 10 min
The film revolves around the difficulties that citizens face due the closure of the Sanaa International Airport. The film is a clear message directed to those who have the power to open outlets and facilitate the rights of moving across and within borders.
Noor Adeen Morgan| Yemen | Documentary, | 2109 | 10 min
Yousef is a 20 year old photo-journalist from Gaza. As he is documenting the return of many to the Palestinian border, he is shot in the leg by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). After several attempts to convince the Israeli army, he is transferred to the West Bank to continue his treatment away from his family and home. There, he tries to adapt, in hopes of fulfilling his dream of becoming a famous journalist.
Mohmmad Krunz| Palestine | 2018 | Documentary| 10 min
This is the history of Michael. Standing powerfully in the face of his disability, and through his sensitivity, creativity, and wonderful sense of humour. He shows us that we all can be the best at something.
Jesus De Frutos Ayuso| Spain | Documentary | 2018 | 19 min
A poetic documentary about sexual harassment and the emotional scarring it causes to all those who face it. These emotions are depicted through the stories of five women across the Middle East.
Hadia Elgawish | UAE | 2017 | Documentary | 9 min
On a Friday 2010, at Nabi Saleh Village, four kids were interviewed at the peaceful weekly demonstrations against the Israeli Occupation. Eight years later, they were interviewed again.
Salim Abu Jabal| Palestine | Documentary | 2019| 23 min
During the war on Gaza, the Israeli army finds a new way to spread fear and tension in the hearts of civilians. The occupation forces call the Gazans and give them a five minute evacuation warning before dropping missiles on their homes. The film shows the experiences of three families and how their “five minutes looked”.
Ahmad Barghouthi| Palestine | 2018 | Documentary | 25 min
What is work? Everyone works and has to work. The 40-hour workweek is a standard in our capitalistic society. For most of our lives, work consumes most of our available time.
Office jobs and assembly-line work have become a symbol for wasting our time on useless labor. The documentary takes a look at people during a workday and makes you reflect on the meaning of labor.
Max Baggermann| Netherlands | Documentary | 2019 | 21 min
What does it take to break the cycle of violence?
Behind the closed doors of a women’s shelter in Copenhagen, the women and children are slowly recovering from domestic violence. Day by day, the women process their traumas as they attempt to understand the cycle of violence and how to truly break free from its shackles.
Christina Rosendahl | Denmark | Documentary | 2017 | 76 min
Viviane and Antoine have lived together for 65 years, and while she still has her strength, he has long been bedridden. At a certain point physical weakness is extremely difficult to face, so the family try to keep Antoine’s spirit alive. This documentary poem plays out in an imagined state of limbo, in which a person awaits the approaching end of life: even if it assuages a harrowing internal disquiet. A heavy lyrical portrait brightened by the warming rays of loved ones’ smiles.
Cyril Aris | Lebanon | Documentary | 2018 | 74 min
A group of teenage ice hockey players from the Czech town of Náchod set off to Morocco onto, what was to become the most interesting training camp of their careers. They came here not only to play ice hockey, but also to get to know the locals and their way of life. Several months later, the boys from the Moroccan town of Salé headed to Czech Republic to experience the same thing. Two teams, two cultures, one mutual interaction. A walk on thin ice full of liberating humour.
Rozálie Kohoutová, Tomáš Bojar | Czech Republic | Documentary | 2019 | 75 min
A love letter from a young mother to her daughter; “For Sama” is both an intimate journey into the female experience of war. The film follows Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama. All while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice: whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life. The film is the first feature documentary by Emmy award-winning filmmakers Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts
Waad Al-Khateab, Edward Watts | UK , Syria | Documentary | 2019 | 90 min
Suliman and three other members of the ‘Sudanese Film Club’ have decided to revive an old cinema. United by their love of cinema and their passionate desire to restore old film stock, they repeatedly find themselves up against considerable resistance. They reveal the struggles artists in Sudan face regularly and their experiences of persecution and torture as part of the cultural opposition. Their friendship is a bond that empowers them to move forward.
Suhaib Gasmelbari | Sudan | Documentary | 2019 | 93 min
In Rural Colombia, veteran activist Don Eduardo, rising political leader César Pachón, and agricultural educator Rosita fight their government’s neoliberal decision that allows companies to carve out their rural rights and their access to fresh water.
Victoria Solano | UK, Columbia | Documentary | 2019 | 83 min
Saeed is a young cinephile trying to teach other youth the rules of filmmaking, but in Eastern Ghouta, reality is too harsh to follow rules. His friend Milad is studying Fine Arts in nearby regime controlled Damascus, but it seems like he is worlds away.
Milad decides to leave the capital and join Saeed living under siege in Douma, where they decide to start an art project. They pick up the camera to film everything they can, until one day the camera films them…
Saeed Al Batal, Ghiath Ayoub| Syria, Lebanon, France, Germany, Qatar | Documentary | 2018| 120 min
When Marwa is nine years old, she flees with her family from Syria and gets stranded in Jordan. They believe they will be in a refugee camp for a few months, but that quickly turns into years.
Dina Naser | Jordan, France, Lebanon, Qatar | Documentary | 2019 | 86 min
A group of young women in Khartoum are determined to play football professionally, in defiance of the ban imposed by Sudan’s Islamic Military government. Their battle to get officially recognized as Sudan’s National Women’s team is fearless and courageous. Through the intimate portraits of these women, over a number of years, we follow their moments of hope and despair
Marwa Zein | Sudan | Documentary | 2019 | 75 min
A portrait of how people attempt to lead meaningful lives against the rubble of perennial conflict. A Representation that goes beyond the reach of television news reports, to reveal a world rich with eloquent and resilient characters.
Garry Keane, Andrew McDonald | Ireland, Palestine | Documentary | 2019 | 92 mins
Omar Shargawi wants to understand his father better and he often casts his father’s character in his films to get closer to him. “Western Arabs” closely intertwines documentary material and scenes from these feature films. Shot over a period of twelve years, this film is an examination by the filmmaker of both his fraught relationship with his father and it’s influence on his identity.
Omar Shargawi | Denmark , Netherlands | Documentary | 2019 | 77 min
Today, the world is an uncomfortable place. Two of the four characters are diagnosed with Down syndrome, known as sunny kids. However, is this world sunny enough for them?
In hopes of escaping their realities, the characters take a journey into the world of classical cinema with the help of an unusual screen in a magic cinema theatre.
Alexander Zhovna | Ukraine | 2019 | Fiction |111 min
In 2002, Ziad and Ramzi are the stars of Al-Amari basketball team. When Ramzi is shot dead in a crossfire, Ziad and his team seek revenge and Ziad is captured by Israeli Forces. When he is released 15 years later, we witness Ziad’s internal battle; as he attempts to consolidate his perception of reality and deconstruct his pain and discomfort.
Bassam Jerbawi| Palestine, United States, Qatar | Fiction| 2018 |108 mins
Despite the noise and chaos of the refugee camp, two young Palestinian refugees discover a creative way to record music in order to meet a deadline for a competition.
Wisam Al Jafari| Palestine | 2018 | Fiction| 15 min
A reflection about modern man in the age of omnipresent technology. Looking through stories on social media, we see people who are lonely, lost or already indifferent about the reality surrounding them. The film takes place during one day and it’s told by short, often (auto)ironic scenes, where the virtual world sinks to reality.
Jola Bańkowska | Poland | Animation | 2018 | 5 min
Amidst the ongoing war in Yemen, people are torn between being “safe” and feeling “distant”. Weighed down by the ever-present mental and emotional baggage, how does one move forward and heal? How does deal with so much suppressed pain
Mariam Al-Dhubhani| Qatar, Russian Federation,Yemen | Documentary | 2018 | 14 min
Ebad Adib-Pour| Iran | 2019 | Fiction| 4 min
Mohcine Besri | Morocco, Switzerland | Fiction | 2018 | 86 min
By the square of Denmark’s largest social housing estate, lies Q’s Barbershop: red walls, green plants, a ventilator and its hairdresser Qasim. The film is a charming portrait of a hairdresser who creates razor-sharp looks, while providing everyday life advice to his equally charismatic customers, each with their own story to tell.
Emil Langballe | Denmark | Documentary | 2019 | 60 min
In Morocco, tribes called ‘Soulaliyates’ own 15 million hectares of collective land, however, Women have no right to inherit or exploit them. This is Mansoura’s story, a woman fighting for her land.
Najlae Benmbarek | Morocco | Documentary | 2019 | 26 min
Charlotte has got a new job as a second grade teacher. One night she is attacked by a nazi and is severely injured. When she comes back to her students she discovers that one of her students is the son of that nazi.
Jimmy Olsson | Sweden | Fiction | 2018 | 13 min
For 5 years, Angelo manages to bring artists from all over the world to his little village in southern Italy, Grottaglie. Artists kept going back every year to paint walls and revive Grottaglie. A special documentary about changing a space’s aesthetic identity, an experience for both its inhabitants and its visitors.
Giacomo Abbruzzese, Angelo MIlano | France, italy | Documentary | 2017 | 57 min
Renowned filmmaker Robert Oey investigates the world of terrorism and questions the attitude of the West regarding its own breed of home-grown radicalism. As young men, Jason Walters and Nouredine El Fahtniare, were members of the extremist Dutch Hofstadgroep, a group held responsible for murder, plotting terror attacks and making death threats. Now, they claim to be reformed. They warn against radicalisation, proclaiming to be family men. Is there such a thing as a good terrorist?
Robert Oey| Netherlands | 2019 | Documentary| 78 min
Far out at sea, a cell phone floating inside an air-tight bag starts to ring.
Javier Marco Rico| Spain | Fiction | 2018 | 10 min
A Street violinist gets ready to play in his usual spot. Hearing his music, a woman stops to listen. She becomes absorbed by the melody and starts to dance. Right here right now, nothing matters except for the music, the dance and what they each dreamt of once upon a time.
Josemari Martinez| Spain | Fiction | 2018 | 10 min
A story about a little leaf who despite all Nature’s laws, dreams to fly. Until the very last moment believes in his dream.
Olya Golubeva | Ireland | Animation | 2017 | 6 min
Tony, 14 years old, has a hard time trying to fit in his school environment. When he is bullied by Frank, the leader of a group of boys, Tony decides to get his revenge. He steals a phone and trains himself to play the mobile game and challenges his bully – it becomes more than just a battle of pixels on a phone.
Karina Hajdamowicz| Poland | Fiction | 2018 | 15 min
Klaus (60) works voluntary as a Santa Claus in a shopping mall. After an exhausting day, he considers quitting his job. But then, he gets a call from the children’s intensive care unit.
Werner Christian | Germany | Fiction | 2018 | 15 min
Marko and Harald are two struggling artists who work a variety of jobs in order to survive. Regardless of the economic realities of the clowns, they still transform into their red-nosed alter egos and are set free on the grounds of the children hospice. Wherever they appear, the two surprise with witty and funny routines. They have to play for a private patient Lena and help her fulfil her biggest wish. Harald & Marko understand: they have to put on a show of their lifetime to make Lena happy one last time.
Frank Alexander| Germany | Fiction | 2019 | 22 min
A man hides his job from his wife. His wife wants to find out the truth, but it creates bigger problems for him. A disaster happens.
Morteza Shams | Iran | Fiction | 2018 | 20 min
Souleymane and Leila just got married, for better or for worse. “The better”, is that they love each other. “The worse”, is that they live in an absurd and kafkaesque country.
Fabrice Bracq | France | Fiction | 2019 | 20 min
In China, in the early 1990’s, a little boy and his family have just come to live in a large factory complex. As he explores his new surroundings, he comes across other boys his age playing ping-pong, and discovers that they are fascinated by a cute little girl who spends her days looking out from the window of an upstairs apartment. Wanting to know more about the girl, he comes up with his own unique way of starting a friendship with her.
Chao Cheng | China | Fiction | 2018 | 14 min
A voice says I would like to make you feel nice and comfortable, and to empty your mind of every single thought…
Thus begins the story: with an invitation to make you fall asleep, in calm, deep, and peaceful rest. A chaotic landscape, crowded with people, is set up on the screen. The crowd doesn’t seem to have anywhere to go, but they are sleeping and they need to dream.
Ginaluca Abbate | Italy | Fiction | 2018 | 8 min
Chennu, as a street kid, committed his first crime when he was 15 years old. He enters “hell”, a hopeless prison in Freetown. Chennu got out after four years, but now he wants to go back in order to help his friends.
Raúl De la Fuente| Spain | Documentary | 2019 | 23 min
This is a documentary about my mother and the moment that changed her life. Through her narration, my mother confesses to me what she remembers from the moment she was raped as a child. By painfully recalling this traumatic event, she reflects on the sexual abuse of children and the scars that these events leave in a person’s life.
Tavo Ruiz| Germany, Mexico, United States | Documentary | 2019 | 11 min
The documentary follows a director’s journey as he seeks to get rid of his fear of using cameras in public. He discusses the risks and restrictions of shooting in public places in Egypt with other independent filmmakers, photographers and journalists.
Kareem Hussein | Egypt | Documentary | 2018 | 14:30 min
“I Wanted to Live” is an up-to-the-minute cinematic challenge, which represents the documented deaths of more than 35,597 refugees and migrants. People who have lost their lives within, or on the European borders since 1993. The work created a new format that adapts and represent data for the big screen. Turning it into a cinematic installation for mobile projections in art galleries, museums, schools and so on.
Christian Alexander Rogler | Germany | Documentary | 2018 | 81 min
Misja Pekel | Netherlands | Documentary | 2018 | 45 min
Behzad khodaveisi | Iran | Fiction | 2019 | 12 min
Zahi returns to Lebanon to organize his father’s funeral. His father was abducted and went missing during the Lebanese Civil War. He finds himself trapped between two separate worlds, where no communication is possible.
Hussen Ibraheem | Lebanon | Fiction | 2018 | 15 min
The story is about a woman who crashes into a food truck. The accident is a hit and run. When she arrives home, she finds out that her motor bike’s plaque is missing.
Alireza Mahzoon | Iran | Fiction | 2018 | 13 min
The story of an Iranian actress who seeks to research drugs and addiction for a role she is playing. In the process, she herself, falls into a drug addiction.
Ali Jalali | Iran | Fiction | 2019 | 19 min
According to the laws of Iran, Bahareh must have her traditional, chauvinistic husband accompany her to driving lessons, so she and her instructor will not be alone.
Marziyeh Riahi | Iran | Fiction | 2019 | 13 min
“Prisoner and Jailer” tells the story of two contrasting Libyans: a key official in the former regime and one of the most prominent figures of the post-revolutionary period. Through these two characters, we discover the circumstances surrounding one of the most influential events in modern Libyan history: The Abu Salim Prison Massacre.
Muhannad Lamin | Libya | Fiction | 2019 | 15 min
A woman from a low income family decides to enjoy a day out with her son, who is diagnosed with Down syndrome. She heads to classy ice-cream shop in Cairo, but instead she is faced with a great struggle. Nevertheless, she insists on capturing a happy moment, for both herself and her son.
Yussef Noaman | Egypt | Fiction | 2019 | 14 min
As punishment, a soldier is relocated from the field to the bureaucratic archive division. He meets and falls in love with a girl outside his garrison.
Jalal Veisi | Iran | Fiction | 2019 | 10 min
Sofia El Khyari |Morocco , UK | Animation | 2017 | 3:38 min
A Docu-drama exposing the treatment that Yemeni nationals face outside their homeland. The treatment manifests in the form of a dichotomy, on the one hand, they are treated as pathetic individuals and, on the other hand, a treatment of false respect that reeks of racism. Hanadi al Oreqi shares her experience as a student in Jordan, she hopes that this film can communicate her vision that “we all have our hardships and battles, but the sun will shine every day”
Mohammed Moussa | Jordan, Yemen | Documentary | 2019 | 6 min
A short documentary about the reality of the sport of boxing in Baqa’a refugee camp. The film depicts three main axes: firstly, the story of the protagonist, a boxer from a family of boxing professionals. Secondly, the socio-economic difficulties hindering him from practicing boxing full-time. And Thirdly, the story of the boxing club, and how it has become a space that has created a safe haven for the camp’s children, getting them into something productive and giving them a real outlet.
Tasnim Abo Bakr | Jordan | Documentary | 2019 | 8 min
Rufina is ready to spend a field day, surrounded by peace and pleasant nature, will it be as simple as it seems?
Rodrigo Canet and Eva urbano | Spain | Animation | 2019 | 4 min
Can the men who risked their lives in Afghanistan restore the records of its colorful diverse past…?
What kind of resistance will emerge when extremists ban music in Mali?
This film is geared towards a female empowering mission statement
A documentary by Carol Mansour depicting the political aftermath of war victims.
A more than middle aged Palestinian woman is forced to make a living out of cleaning houses. She is faced with an ultimatum when she finds that a particular house she works at is harboring a sinister secret.
All the world’s satellites and surveilance equipment cannot observe the reality of what is happening in Syria. Or at least, it cannot transmit this reality to the world. What makes a person sacrifice his life just to transmit the voice of the unheard to the rest of the world? This just might be a brave act of victory towards humanity.
Where do you hide from danger when you can’t hide anywhere? The Kurdish girl Bahar believes she has found a way. This is the story of Bahar, a little girl, who given the circumstances shes in cannot be a child. In order to fight her fears, she believes that she can be invisible by closing her eyes.
From his perspective, how would an eight year old Palestian kid ‘Milad’ see the wars of the adults?
A Palestinian poet and an Italian journalist help five Palestinians and Syrians reach Sweden.
Short Animation about a little girl during the civil war in Afghanistan.
Documentary of the lives of Armenians in Egypt, their history, and stories.
Film director Leila Sansour returns to Bethlehem to make a film about her home town, soon to be encircled by a wall. She left the city as a teenager thinking that Bethlehem was too small and provincial. She never wanted to return but this time she is making an exception. She intends her film to be a tribute to her late father, founder of Bethlehem University, and a man regarded as a hero by his town’s folk. As Bethlehem approaches ruin her decision to flee this sleepy town, taken much to her father’s regret, comes to haunt her.