Do You Love Me
Filmmaker Lana Daher filmically mimics the chaos, confusion and complexity of her native Beirut’s recent history in a whirlwind of archival montage that is at once stunning and indecipherable.
Amman 2026
Amman 2026: The Verdict
The Iran war menacing the Middle East was a no-show at Amman’s 7th festival.
Khalid Abdalla, the Advocate of Freedom
“I feel deeply optimistic about the cultural potential in the [Middle East] region,” the British-Egyptian actor and creator of the play ‘Nowhere’ told The Film Verdict.
All This Death
An elderly man in Beirut wrestles with grief and his own mortality in All This Death, Fadi Syriani’s poignant and accomplished stop-motion animation.
Amman 2026: The Awards
Cyril Aris’s romcom grounded in Lebanon’s harsh reality ‘A Sad and Beautiful World’ won Amman’s Arab Narrative competition, while in the Arab Feature Documentary race Tawfiq Sabouni’s moving recreation of life in a Syrian prison ‘The Other Side of the Sun’ won three awards.
My Father’s Shadow
In a boldly impressionistic sketch teetering between dream and reality, Akinola Davies, Jr. makes a dazzling feature debut with ‘My Father’s Shadow’, a gripping exploration of the bonds between a father and his young sons and the societal forces tearing them apart.
Nada Doumani Champions Arab Film Culture in Difficult Times
The Amman Film Festival director and co-founder faces new challenges but relies on the community of filmmakers: “We want people who have something to share.”
No Land in Sight
A mother anxiously awaits news of her son in the tense short chamber piece, No Land in Sight, about the ways in which we cling on to hope in the dark.
Passport Wedding
Hind Hamed is excellent as a widowed mother trying to give her daughter a start in life in Passport Wedding, Abdallah Al-Ziyadi’s intimate and expressive drama.
The President’s Cake
A child’s endeavor to find baking ingredients in ‘The President’s Cake’ becomes a boldly vivid portrait of life in 90s’ Iraq amid war, foreign sanctions, dictatorship, and childhood, with a commendable young cast and unique visual identity.
Where the Wind Comes From
Amel Guellaty’s ‘Where the Wind Comes From’ is a vibrant road movie combining humor, fantasy, and charismatic performances of two young people determined to imagine their freedom beyond social restraints and economic crisis.
Amman Leaps Beyond the Frame
The Amman Intl. Film Festival – Awal Films kicks off boldly in the midst of the Mideast conflict.