News from Berlin

The fifth annual Arab Film Festival gets underway on Wednesday and lasts a week until March 26. The event will see screenings of features and short films which include experimental and artistic elements, as well as documentaries covering multiple facets of Arab culture. One of the films attracting the highest amount of interest is ‘Winter of Discontent’ by Ibrahim El Batout, which deals with the aftermath of the Arab Spring in Egypt. A further film addressing the uprisings in various countries is ‘It was better tomorrow’ by Hinde Boujemaa, which is also seen as one of the most appealing films on show during the festival.

The festival was first organized by the ‘Freunde der Arabischen Kinemathek’ in November 2009 and has grown to become one of the largest Arab film festivals in Germany. ALFILM is a non-profit function and lays its focus on films that have been produced in an Arab country in the last three years. The general aim is to spread the work of Arab film makers and shed light on topical issues and cultural life in Arab countries. The organizers include question and answer sessions, as well as multiple discussions throughout the week in order to facilitate a multicultural and creative dialogue. Previous editions of the event have generally been received with favourable reviews and praise which, in turn, has contributed to increasing popularity and interest in the festival.