Prague to host 1st Arab Film Festival

CAIRO – 9 July 2018: The Arab Cinema Center (ACC) is launching a series of festivals around the globe to promote the beauty of the Arab culture and heritage.

Prints as significant as Screen Daily and The Hollywood Reporter shed light on the launching of "Mad 3araby" (Arab Flow) festival taking place in the beautiful capital of Czech, Prague, on October 31 - November 4, 2018.

Post the 53rd edition of the Karlovy Vary International Festival (KVIFF), the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) revealed news about the launching of "Mad 3araby".

Alaa Karkouti, CEO of MAD Solution and Co-Founder of Arab Cinema Center, stated to The Hollywood Reporter that "MAD 3araby" is a new development for the ACC’s initiatives that aim to promote the Arab culture around the world through different activities.

The ACC is annually present in 20 different locations worldwide through film festivals and markets focusing on the film industry.

The ACC is currently aiming to launch its own magazine printed in the English. The magazine will focus on news about the Arab cinema productions and prestigious film festivals around the globe.

The magazine is affiliated with the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), Malaga Film Festival, Mar Del Plata International Film Festival, and Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), among others.

The ACC launched several initiatives to promote the Arab culture to the European market such as The Latin-Arab Co-Production Forum, Annual Critics Award, Arab Cinema Personality of the Year, and the Achievement Award for Film Critics.

Karkouti told Screen Daily that Prague is the first city to host the festival and that they plan to spread it to other cities in Czech Republic and around the world in the future.

Maher Diab, creative director and co-founder of "Mad 3arabi", and Abdallah al-Shami, the GCC representative at "Mad Solutions" and the managing partner, are both the artistic directors of the festival. Iranian Filmmaker Kavech Daneshmand is the festival’s managing director.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Daneshmand stated, “Arab cinema has been in constant rise for years now, and more than ever before; a well curated presentation of the works of Arab filmmakers has become essential internationally.”

Speaking about the festival’s strategy, Shami said: “‘Mad 3araby’ will work with all the ACC’s partners from institutions and festivals to film companies to promote Arab cinema in a more effective way, especially in countries that lack Arab film representation in its movie theatres.”

Furthermore, Diab pointed out that "Mad 3araby" is implementing the ACC’s strategies aiming to open new horizons for Arab film makers internationally, and create an international market for the Arab Film industry, broadening the audience base of Arab cinema.

Since Prague is known for its liberal views and support for film production of various kinds and genres, it has been chosen as the starting point of the festival taking place on October 31 - November 4, 2018.

The festival is organized by MAD Solutions and the Iranian Film Festival.

The ACC is considered by many in Egypt and the Pan-Arab region as an international promotional platform for Arab Cinema as it links the Arab filmmaking industry with its counterparts in different locations worldwide through events and festivals organized annually for sharing experiences.

Digital copies of the ACC magazine can be obtained through the magazine’s website and newsletter subscriptions. News about the ACC is also available post subscribing and notifications can be turned on/off depending on the individual’s preference.

Newsletter subscribers will receive all kinds of news about the ACC activities, festivals, notifications on application dates for grants, offers from educational and training institutions, updates on Arab film participations in festivals, exclusive news about the Arab Cinema LAB and highlights from the ACC partners.

Moreover, the ACC launched an Arab Cinema Guide in English available on its official website.

The guide is comprehensive focusing on Arab cinema and everything related to it. It compromises a variety of tools offered for the first time to filmmakers inside and outside the Arab region.

The ACC aims through its website to enable local filmmakers to reach international markets and to allow film industry representatives to easily locate Arab film productions.