Founded by MAD Solutions, a cinema industry promotional platform, Arab Cinema Centre (ACC) revealed the nominees for its annual Critics Awards for Arab Films.

The Critics Awards bring together the finest film critics from all over the world to select the best Arab films in the following categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Documentary, and Best Feature Film.

This year, the event brings together 160 film critics from 63 countries under its jury committee, which will look into films produced throughout 2020. The winners are announced during an official ceremony held within the Cannes Film Festival every year.

In the official press release, co-founders of the Arab Cinema Centre Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab said: “This year’s edition is very special to us as we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Critics Awards for Arab Films that aim to promote the finest Arab productions annually. What’s remarkable about this edition is that we have a stiff competition between great films, unlike last year that witnessed few cinematic productions across the world.”

The finalists are as follows:

Best Documentary
‘Lift Like a Girl’ - Directed by Mayye Zayed - Egypt
‘The Postcard’ - Directed by Asmae El Moudir - Morocco
‘Before the Dying of the Light’ - Directed by Ali Essafi - Morocco

Best Actress
Hiam Abbas – ‘Gaza Mon Amour’ - Palestine
Kansha Batma – ‘Zanka Contact’ - Morocco
Zoe Adjani – ‘Honey Cigar’ - Algeria

Best Actor
Ali Suliman – ‘200 Metres’ - Palestine & Jordan
Salim Dau – ‘Gaza Mon Amour’ - Palestine
Tarek Yaacoub – ‘Broken Keys’ - Lebanon

Best Screenplay
Ameen Nayfeh – ‘200 Metres’ - Palestine & Jordan
Arab Nasser and Tarzan Nasser – ‘Gaza Mon Amour’ - Palestine
Kaouther ben Hania – ‘The Man Who Sold His Skin’ - Tunisia

Best Director
Ameen Nayfeh – ‘200 Metres’ - Palestine & Jordan
Arab Nasser and Tarzan Nasser – ‘Gaza Mon Amour’ - Palestine
Kaouther ben Hania – ‘The Man Who Sold His Skin’ - Tunisia

Best Feature Film
‘200 Metres’ - Directed by Ameen Nayfeh - Palestine & Jordan
‘Gaza Mon Amour - Directed by Arab Nasser and Tarzan Nasser - Palestine
‘Zanka Contact’ - Directed by Ismaël Al-Iraki - Morocco

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