Festival director Pascale Fakhry of ALFILM states, "We've consistently connected within our cinema shows."
ALFILM Festival Returns for its 13th Edition in Berlin
The ALFILM Festival, a renowned platform for Arab cinema in Germany, is gearing up for its 13th edition from April 24 to 30. The festival, which was founded in 2009 by Fadi Abdelnour, Issam Haddad, and Claudia Jubeh, has been a beacon for showcasing Arab voices and providing a space for peaceful and constructive discussions about films.
Over the years, the festival has operated without funding, with most of the team working voluntarily. Pascale Fakhry, the current director of ALFILM, joined the festival in 2008 on a voluntary basis after moving to Berlin. Today, she leads the festival with a commitment to maintaining its mission.
The festival's structure is unique, focusing on choosing films based on criteria of artistic relevance, whether political, cultural, or social, and ensuring that the work holds up in a solely cinematic sense. This year, the 'Spotlight' section of the festival will address the most important topics of the moment, with the focus on Palestine in cinema.
The festival will feature a diverse lineup of films, including the opening film, Bye Bye Tiberias [2023] by Lina Soualem. Another highlight is The Burdened [2023] by Amr Gamal, a film exploring a former middle-class family's financial struggles in Yemen.
In addition, a documentary from Iraq, My Lost Country [2022], will be shown at the festival, focusing on a second-generation Chilean's relationship with her countries. The ALFILM Festival will also show Hanna K. [1983] under a specific lens of investigation to explore Palestine's influence on the history of cinema.
The festival's primary goal remains to showcase Arab cinema in Germany and provide a platform for Arab voices. Over the years, the Arabic film landscape has become more professional, and the quality of films has increased, with more films touring the world.
The festival has historically moved the majority of its program to Arsenal, one of Germany's most important cinemas, since 2015. Hilmar Hoffmann, who was involved in the founding of the ALFILM Festival, also founded the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen in 1954, aligning with the kind of film culture ALFILM represents.
With a large number of young Arab artists, including filmmakers, living in Berlin due to recent changes in the migration situation, the ALFILM Festival continues to play a vital role in promoting Arab cinema and fostering dialogue between different cultures. More information about the ALFILM Festival can be found at alfilm.berlin.
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