Focus on Arab cinema in the middle east

Films in competition by Arab filmmakers from the Near and Middle East have won 12 awards, including 7 Audience Awards, demonstrating the strong appeal these Arab Asian directors hold for Vesoul festival-goers. The great lady of Lebanese cinema, the late Jocelyne Saab, received the Francophonie Medal at the 15th FICA Vesoul in 2009 during the retrospective of her films. An Honorary Golden Cyclo was awarded to the prestigious Syrian filmmaker Mohammad Malas during the tribute paid to him at the 24th FICA Vesoul in 2018. A tribute was also paid to the remarkable actress Hiam Abbas at the 25th FICA Vesoul in 2019

The cinema of the Land of the Cedar: Lebanon

The first film produced in Lebanon, ‘The Adventures of Elias Mabrouk’, a silent work by Italian director Jordano Pidutti, dates from 1929. The first sound film, ‘In the Ruins of Baalbek’ by J. de Luca, K. Boustany and G. Costy, was made in 1934. Georges Nasser, author of ‘Where To?’, the first Lebanese film selected in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1957, and of ‘The Little Stranger’, also in competition at Cannes in 1961, is considered the father of Lebanese auteur cinema, far removed from the musical, “Bedouin,” adventure or comic films of an industry heavily influenced by Egypt. The hope for the emergence, in the 1960s and 70s, of a new cinema close to neorealism was shat- tered by the outbreak of the civil war (1975-1990). From this tragedy emerged, in the 1980s, the period known as “the intellectuals’ filmmakers,” who mainly produced courageous and painstaking documentaries that achieved international recognition, often made by women: Jocelyne Saab, Mai Masri, Randa Chahal Sabbagh, Olga Nakkash, Layla Assaf, Dima Al-Joundi, Danielle Arbid, or Heiny Srour. The latter’s ‘Leila and the Wolves’ (1984) is the starting point of this focus on the Arab cinemas of the Near East. The film retraces the history of Palestine - from the end of the First World War (1918) to the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 1982 - through the perspective and lived experiences of Palestinian women. Lives shattered by the successive, seemingly endless wars in Lebanon profoundly shaped the life paths and artistic creations of filmmakers such as Nadine Labaki, a Lebanese Arab-Christian actress and director, and Carlos Chahine, a Lebanese actor and director living between Lebanon and France. They are the worthy successors of talented directors such as Borhane Alaouié, Maroun Baghdadi, Jean-Khalil Chamoun, Jean-Claude Codsi, Samir Habchi, Ghassan Salhab, Ziad Doueiri, Assad Fouladkar, and others who came before them. They seek to awaken Lebanese cinema from its routine by tackling the civil war in a different way—through humor (‘Where Do We Go Now?’) or by exploring new themes such as Lebanon’s newfound independence after the French Mandate in the 1940s-50s (‘The Night of the Glass of Water’). The choice of ‘Incendies’ by Denis Villeneuve—an adaptation of the play by Lebanese-Canadian playwright Wajdi Mouawad -came naturally. It addresses the universal tragedies of war, exile, origins, cultural clash, and peoples scarred by History, and more. The play and the film go beyond the tragic civil war in Lebanon, which is never explicitly mentioned.

The cinema of a nation condemned to wandering by the violence of History: Palestine

IIronically, the first Palestinian film is an Egyptian fiction film, ‘A Kiss in the Desert’ (1927), by Palestinian director Ibrahim Lama, starring Palestinian actor Badr Lama in the lead male role. There is no other trace of Palestinian cinema during the period of the British Mandate(1923–1948). After the Nakba (“the catastrophe”) of 1948, which saw the exodus of 700,000 Palestinians during the Arab–Israeli war, it was not until the 1960s that a politically engaged cinema emerged, funded by the Palestinian Cinema Institute created in 1968. These were mainly documentaries focused on exile and later on the struggle of the Palestinian people during the two Intifadas (1987-1990) and (2000-2005). The PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) supported the creation of a Cinema Unit. One of the rare fiction films on the Palestinian question was made by the Egyptian Tawfiq Salah, ‘The Dupes’ (1972), adapted from the novella ‘Men in the Sun’ by Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani, or by Israeli directors such as Uri Barbash (‘Beyond the Walls’, 1985), Eyal Halfon (‘Circus Palestina’, 1999), or, a few years later, Eran Riklis (‘The Syrian Bride’, 2004; ‘The Lemon Tree’, 2007). Palestinian auteur cinema emerged in the 1980s-1990s through Palestinian directors of Israeli nationality: Michel Khleifi (‘Wedding in Galilee’, 1987; ‘Canticle of the Stones’, 1990; ‘The Tale of the Three Jewels’, 1995…), Elia Suleiman (‘Chronicle of a Disappearance’, 1996; ‘Divine Intervention’, 2002; ‘The Time That Remains’, 2009…), Ali Nassar (‘The Milky Way’, 1997; ‘In the Ninth Month’, 2002), American-Palestinian director Mai Masri (‘Dreams of Exile,’ 2001; ‘3000 Nights’, 2015…), and Rashid Masharawi, born in Gaza in 1962, the first Palestinian filmmaker from the occupied territories (‘Haïfa’, 1995; ‘A Ticket to Jerusalem’, 2002; ‘Waiting’, 2006…). Following these pioneers, a new generation of Palestinian filmmakers-born in Israel, in the Palestinian territories, or in the diaspora-emerged in the 21st century. They often found funding for their films in Europe or the USA, and sometimes even in Israel through the Israel Film Foundation (nearly 20% of Israeli citizens are Palestinian: these “Arab Israelis” are about 80% Muslim, 11% Christian, and 9% Druze). In Gaza, since Hamas’ rise to power, every film must be approved by the Hamas Ministry of Culture before public screening. It censors any content not conforming to its directives, particularly regarding religious norms and women, as was the case with ‘Something Sweet’ (2010) by Khalil al-Muzzayen, a short film selected at the Cannes Film Festival in which a woman appeared without a veil.

This retrospective includes six major films made in the past five years whose quality or subject matter drew international festival attention. Rashid Masharawi is a major filmmaker, author of around twenty films selected at numerous international festivals including Cannes. He founded the Ramallah Film Production and Distribution Center. His latest fiction feature, ‘Dream’ (2025), is a road movie—one of his favored genres—set in Israeli-Palestinian lands. This journey through the Holy Land becomes an allegory infused with oriental poetry about the resilience of the Palestinian people dispossessed of their homeland. ‘From Ground Zero’ (2024) is an omnibus “emergency cinema” film shot with mobile phones by Gazans living under the rain of Israeli bombs in retaliation for the attacks of October 7, 2023. The project was conceived by Masharawi to allow them to recount their daily lives. ‘200 Meters’ (2020) by Ameen Nayfeh, featuring the great Palestinian actor of Israeli nationality Ali Suliman, illustrates the absurdity of the daily life of a Palestinian family. Although they live only 200 meters apart, they are separated by the wall built by Israeli authorities, forcing them each day to pass through countless checkpoints to see one another and attempt to maintain a semblance of family life. ‘Mediterranean Fever’ (2022), by Palestinian director Maha Haj, uses dark humor to depict the depressive melancholy that can overtake Palestinians of Israeli nationality. The main character struggles with an administrative nationality imposed by the violence of History, which has stripped him of his deep and intimate identity. The first fiction film by Palestinian-Danish director Mahdi Fleifel, ‘To a Land Unknown’ is inspired by real events. The tragedy of exile repeats itself endlessly, whether in Kuwait, Greece, or elsewhere. ‘Once Upon a Time’ in Gaza (2025), the third fiction feature by the twin filmmakers from Gaza, Arab and Tarzan Nasser, takes place in 2007, the year Hamas won the legislative elections in the Gaza Strip, marking the beginning of isolation, repression, and cruelty. As in their earlier films ‘Dégrade’ (2015) and ‘Gaza, My Love’ (2020), they use an offbeat and absurd black humor, blending elements of police drama, western, black comedy, and thriller, with numerous nods to cult films in cinema history.

Filming despite censorship: Syria

Cinema arrived in Syria, then under Ottoman rule, shortly after the invention of the cinématographe by the Lumière brothers in 1895. The first screenings took place in Aleppo in 1908, then in Damascus in 1912, in cafés. The first Syrian fiction film, ‘The Innocent Accused’ by Rachid Jalal, a burlesque American-style gangster film, was shot in 1928. The first Syrian sound film, ‘Light and Darkness’ by Nazih Shahbandar, dates from 1947, just one year after independence. In the 1950s, Syrian film production existed thanks to individual initiative and was subject to censorship. The 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s are considered the golden age of Syrian cinema, with filmmakers such as Nabil El Maleh (‘The Leopard,’ 1972), Omar Amiralay (‘Everyday Life in a Syrian Village’, 1974), Raymond Boutros (‘Freshwater Algae’, 1991), Oussama Mohamed (‘Stars in Broad Daylight’, 1988 – selected at Cannes but banned for several years in Syria despite being produced by the official National Film Organization), Mohammad Malas (‘The Night’, 1992), Abdellatif Abdelhamid (‘The Rise of the Rain’, 1996). All achieved international recognition. The Damascus International Film Festival was created in 1979. The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, brought it to an end in 2012. Syrian auteur cinema has been carried on through the efforts of a handful of talented directors constantly playing cat-and-mouse with censorship. The civil war (2011–2024) severely affected the film industry. Many filmmakers were killed or fled the country. However, films continued to be made, either in Syria – ‘A Ladder to Damascus’ (2013) by Mohammad Malas - or by Syrian filmmakers in exile - ‘The Translator’ (2019) by Rana Kazkaz and Anas Khalaf, ‘Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo’ (2022) by Marya Zarif and André Kadi… Despite the challenges, there is a growing desire to tell authentic Syrian stories. Initiatives to support Syrian filmmakers, both in the country and abroad, are developing. Film festivals, workshops, and online platforms can provide new visibility for Syrian productions. The Syrian diaspora also plays a crucial role in revitalizing cinema, bringing new perspectives and contributing to film production. The choice to present ‘Nezouh’, by Franco-Syrian director Soudade Kaadan, fits within this rebirth of Syrian cinema rooted in Syrian social reality.

Iraq: films or a national cinema?

In Iraq, during the Ottoman period, Games of Images was the first film screened publicly in Baghdad in 1909. During the British Mandate (1920–1932), movie theaters multiplied, mainly in cities. Under the Hashemite monarchy (1932–1958) the first film considered Iraqi, ‘Fitna and Hassan’ by Haydar al-Umar, was made in 1954. In 1957, ‘Mr. Saïd’ (‘Saïd Effendi’) by Kameran Hassani became a neo-realist masterpiece. A restored version was screened at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in 2025 in the Cannes Classics section. A few other films gained international attention, such as ‘The Night Guard’ by Khalil Shawqi (1968). Saddam Hussein took absolute power in 1979, imposing even harsher censorship and steering cinema toward historical epics. During the first quarter of the 21st century, despite political instability, filmmakers began producing works addressing Iraq’s reality: Mohamed Al-Daradji – ‘Ahlaam’ (2005) and ‘Son of Babylon’ (2009); Hussam Ali – ‘The Last Photo’(2013); Ibrahim Al-Azzawi - ‘Zaman’ (2018). Iraqi filmmakers in exile and the diaspora have contributed significantly to the revival of Iraqi cinema: ‘Zaman, the Man of the Reeds’ (2003) by the late Amer Alwan, ‘Dawn of the World (2008) by Abbas Fahdel – also a documentarian – Return to Babylon (2002), We, the Iraqis (2004), Homeland: Iraq Year Zero (2015), Tales of the Wounded Land’ (2025). International festivals, especially in France – Montpellier, Nantes, Vesoul, and of course Cannes - have consistently shown interest in talented Iraqi directors.The recent Camera d’Or awarded at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in 2025 to Iraqi director Hasan Hadi for ‘The President’s Cake’ represents Iraq in this panorama dedicated to the Arab cinemas of the Fertile Crescent. Let us hope that this film will be the harbinger of a new Arab spring… for cinema.

Jean-Marc Thérouanne, Général delegate of VIFFAC