October 27, 2020

Press Release 10/27/2020: Arab Film Fest Collab Starts December 3, 2020

by Lamia Abukhadra | in Film

FOR IMMEDIATED RELEASE:
FOUR MAJOR NATIONAL ARAB AMERICAN CULTURAL ORGS JOIN FORCES TO PRESENT A VIRTUAL ARAB FILM FESTIVAL

The Arab Film Fest Collab will highlight Afro-Arab + Black SWANA voices, screen Najwa Najjar’s Between Heaven and Earth and more

Press contact:
Ahmed AbdulMageed
ahmed@mizna.org

Stay up to date with more news: arabfilmfestcollab.org 

Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN (Oct. 27, 2020) – Four film and cultural organizations from across the country come together for an exciting week of virtual programming, the inaugural Arab Film Fest Collab (AFFC). The Film Fest will include North American and US premieres of highly anticipated films by Arab and Southwest Asian + North African (SWANA) artists, including Najwa Najjar’s award-winning drama Between Heaven and Earth (2019) and Revolution from Afar (Bentley Brown, 2020), a documentary spotlighting Sudanese musicians and poets. Other featured films include In Vitro (2019) by Palestinian artist and filmmaker Larissa Sansour.

The Arab American National Museum (AANM), Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI), ArteEast and Mizna collectively present the Arab Film Fest Collab December 3–13, 2020. With programs highlighting Afro-Arab and Black SWANA voices and narratives, AFFC aims to capture the diverse narratives and complexity of the Arab world. Genres include drama, science-fiction, comedy, and documentary, in both short-form and feature lengths. Languages represented in the films include Arabic, French, Somali, and English, and every non-English offering is subtitled in English.

“The pandemic has brought so many challenges, but it has also jump-started a collaboration that is a long time coming, bringing together the resources and creative input of four leading Arab/SWANA arts organizations. In the spirit of experimentation and being open to new possibilities, we’re excited to bring extraordinary debut films right into the homes of film lovers across the country,” said Lana S. Barkawi, Executive + Artistic Director of Mizna.

AFFC also offers special programming, including talkbacks with renowned filmmakers and scholars, as well as screenings and panel discussions with emerging Arab filmmakers. On December 11, AFFC will partner with the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies at New York University (NYU) to present Excavating Alternative Histories, a panel featuring filmmakers Naeem Mohaiemen, Adam Khalil, and Zack Khalil in conversation with the director of the Center for Media, Culture and History at NYU, Faye Ginsburg. This program will be presented in tandem with AFFC screenings of films by the Khalil brothers, program TBA. 

To learn more about the Film Fest, sponsorship opportunities, and to sign up for updates, visit arabfilmfestcollab.org

Stills to In Vitro (Larissa Sansour, 2019), Between Heaven and Earth (Najwa Najjar, 2019), and Revolution from Afar (Bentley Brown, 2020) are available here.

About AANM
The Arab American National Museum (AANM) is the first and only museum of its kind. Dedicated to telling the Arab American story, AANM documents, preserves and presents Arab American history, culture and contributions.www.arabamericanmuseum.org

About AFMI
The Arab Film and Media Institute (AFMI) is the first organization of its kind outside the Arab world, a unique ecosystem to find, nurture, connect, and develop Arab film and media projects. AFMI aims to empower local Arab talent to tell their communities’ stories in their own voices through workshops, development and opportunities to screen their work. Through film, education, mentorship, and new media, AFMI’s mission is to change pervasive worldwide anti-Arab narratives. AFMI is the producer of the Arab Film Festival, the country’s oldest and largest festival of Arab films.www.arabfilminstitute.org

About ArteEast
ArteEast is a leading NY-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting contemporary arts of the Middle East and North Africa. Through public programming, strategic partnerships, and online platforms, ArteEast is a forum for critical dialogue and exchange.www.arteeast.org

About Mizna
Mizna is a critical platform for contemporary literature, art, film, and cultural programming centering the work of Arab and Southwest Asian and North African artists. For more than twenty years, Mizna has sought to reflect the depth and multiplicity of our community and have been committed to being a space for Arab, Muslim, and other artists from the region to reclaim our narratives and engage audiences in meaningful and artistically excellent art.www.mizna.org

Thank you to our generous sponsors who are making this major film event possible!
Supporters: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, California Arts Council, Center for Arab American Philanthropy, Grants for the Arts, McKnight Foundation, Metro Regional Arts Council, Minnesota State Arts Board, National Endowment for the Arts, National Network for Arab American Communities, New York Community Trust, Saint Paul STAR Program, San Francisco Arts Commission
Sponsors: Wisdom Ways