Since its launch in 1932, the Venice International Film Festival has hosted mainly films and filmmakers from Europe, North and South America, and Asia.
Though the Arab world is not equally fortunate in its representations in this Italian city, a few names and films make it to the festival's almanacs.
Abderrahmane Sissako
It is important to shed light on Abderrahmane Sissako, a Mauritanian-Malian filmmaker on the jury of the Main Competition (Venezia 81), a section featuring world premieres that compete for the Golden Bear.
Born in Kiffa (a town in south Mauritania) to a Mauritanian father and a Malian mother, Moscow-educated filmmaker Sissako spent most of his life in Mali.
His presence in Venice is a big recognition for sub-Saharan cinema since Sissako dedicated his work to shedding light on African issues. His Arab linking comes through the origins of his father adding to his explorations of identity in multi-cultural settings.
Sissako's film Waiting for Happiness (Heremakono) was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard and won a FIPRESCI Prize.
His 2014 film Timbuktu competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Sissako's most recent film Black Tea was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival (2024).
Orizzonti: home for Arab filmmakers
The Arab filmmaker's presence is usually seen on the panels of Horizons (Orizzonti) section or in a jury deciding on a winner of the Lion of the Future “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film. The latter award is given to the best debut film, regardless of the section it is screened at.
Tunisian names such as actress Hend Sabry (2019), producer Dora Bouchoucha (2020), filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania (2023) and Egyptian ones including actress Nelly Karim (2016), actor Amr Waked (2013), filmmakers Marianne Khoury (2011) and Yousry Nasrallah (2006), and film critic Samir Farid (2003) were among a few who represented jury of the mentioned competitions.
Equally, Lebanon was represented by actress and filmmaker Nadine Labaki (2012), Algeria by director Sofia Djama (2022), and Morocco by filmmaker Faouzi Bensaïdi (2023). Saudi Arabia's filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour presided over Debut Film jury panel in 2013.
Over the past quarter century, very few Arab names were featured as jurors in other sections of Venice Festival.
They included Moroccan director Yasmine Kassari sitting at the Short Films Jury in 2007.
The Main Competition jury featured Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun on its panel in year 2000, Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman was at the same jury (Venezia 71) in 2014, and Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri in 2023 (Venezia 80).
Horizons (Orizzonti)
This year Orizzonti's seven-juror-strong panel includes a Syrian filmmaker, Soudade Kaadan.
It's worth adding that the last time a Syrian artist joined any of Venice's competitition jury was in 2007, when Syrian director and producer, Hala Alabdalla Yakoub, sat on the Orizzonti's panel.
Born in France and raised in Damascus, Kaadan "gained international recognition with her debut feature film, The Day I Lost My Shadow," which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2018 and won the esteemed Lion of the Future Award for Best Debut Film. Her feature film Nezouh won the audience award at the Venice Festival in 2022, making her the only Arab female director to win twice in Venice," reads her biography at IMDb.
This year the Orizzonti selection includes two films from Arab countries.
The first is Aïcha (Tunisia, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar), a film written and directed by Mehdi Barsaoui which "explores how far one can go to break free from their past," the IMDb reveals.
Barsaoui is a Tunisian editor and director, also known for A Son (2019) film that won 20 awards, including the Horizons Award for Best Actor (Sami Bouajila) at Venice Film Festival 2019, Best Narrative Feature at Carthage Film Festival (2019), Best Feature Film and Best Actress (Najla Ben Abdallah) at Malmö Arab Film Festival (2020), and three awards at Cairo International Film Festival (2019).
Aïcha stars Fatma Sfar, Nidhal Saadi, Yasmine Dimassi, Hela Ayed.
Happy Holidays (Palestine, Germany, France, Italy, Qatar) is a second Arab film competing in the Orizzonti segment.
The film is directed by Scandar Copti, a Palestinian filmmaker, film writer, and actor.
Born in Jaffa in historic Palestine, Copti's films examine the social problems of Arab-Palestinian society in Israel. His debut feature film Ajami (2009) created with Israeli filmmaker Yaron Shani was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, representing Israel.
Following the viewers' questions related to Copti's Palestinian origins versus the Israeli linking of the film, the filmmaker explained in one of the interviews, "I do not represent Israel," arguing that the "technical thing" is based on the film's funding coming from there.
His latest, Happy Holidays presents "four interconnected characters who share their unique realities, highlighting the complexities between genders, generations, and cultures," reads the film's synopsis.
Horizons Extra (Orizzonti Extra)
Aligned with Orizzonti, the Orizzonti Extra is a non-competitive section; however, other awards, such as the Lion of the Future and Audience award, can be offered to the qualifying films.
This year, Orizzonti Extra screens just one film from an Arab country, Egypt.
Seeking Heaven for Mr. Rambo by Khaled Mansour is a co-production of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The film stars Essam Omar, Rakeen Saad, Samma Ibrahim, Ahmed Bahaa.
And though the film is screened in a non-competitive segment, it qualifies for the Lion of the Future “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film. Following the annual practice, there is a total of 20 films - across different sections - competing for the Lion of the Future.
The film follows Hassan and his dog, Rambo. The latter bites Hassan's neighbour Karem who seeks revenge. Escaping Karem, Hassan embarks on a journey with Rambo, only to find himself on a road to self-discovery.
Orizzonti Short Films International Competition
This is a competitive Orizzonti section dedicated to screening short films. The section offers the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film, assigned by the Jury of the Orizzonti section.
One film from the Arab world competes against 12 other international entries: Shadows, a film by Rand Beiruty (France, Jordan).
The 2D traditional animation reconstructs the true story of Ahlam, a teenage mother who fled Iraq, driven by a desire for freedom, the synopsis reveals.
Critics Week
Perfumed with Mint by Muhammed Hamdy (Egypt, France, Tunisia) is the only entry from the Arab world in the Critics Week (Settimana Internazionale della Critica, SIC).
Perfumed with Mint "captures the tranquillized paranoia of a wounded generation tormented by what they cannot forget and what they refuse to surrender," reads the synopsis at the Toronto Film Festival's website where the film will be screened after Venice.
Besides competing for an award at Venice's Critics Week section, the film also qualifies for competing for the Lion of the Future.
Venice Classics
The section was launched in 2012 to highlight the film restoration efforts of classic films. The non-competitive section also screens a selection of documentaries about cinema.
The only Arabic film in Venice Classics — Documentaries About Cinema is Maroun Returns to Beirut (Qatar, Lebanon), directed by Feyrouz Serhal.
The film is Serhal's ode to Maroun Bagdadi (1950-1993), the internationally acclaimed Lebanese filmmaker, whose portfolio includes working with American producer/director Francis Coppola and several award-winning titles.
Giornate degli Autori (Venice Days)
Founded in 2004 by Giorgio Gosetti, this is an independent section of the Venice Film Festival. This section balances the star-studded main segments of the festival and films that shed light on less-known voices, characterized by their innovative approach, arthouse cinema, and independent filmmaking.
This year 10 titles compete for an award, in addition to eight screened out of competition.
One film from an Arab country, titled Sudan, Remember Us, secured its place in an Out-of-Competition segment of Venice Days.
Sudan, Remember Us (France, Tunisia, Qatar, Italy) is directed by Hind Meddeb.
The film "captures a jubilant moment of defiance among young Sudanese activists in Khartoum after the overthrow of a long dictatorship, and then chronicles the military crackdown that followed," reads the film's synopsis.
Final Cut
Launched in 2013, the Final Cut in Venice is the industry programme that offers support in the completion of films from all African countries and five countries of the Middle East: Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria.
This year seven work-in-progress films were selected, five of which represent Arab countries, or see a production support of an Arab country.
The Fiction segment of the Final Cut includes Aisha Can’t Fly Away (Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Sudan, France) by Morad Mostafa, In This Darkness I See You (Lebanon, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia) by Nadim Tabet, and My Father’s Scent (Egypt, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France) by Mohamed Siam.
Your Daughter (Egypt) by Sara Shazli is the only Arab film in the Docufiction segment of Final Cut, and Those Who Watch Over (Belgium, France, Qatar) by Karima Saidi is in the Documentary segment.
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