Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
News

Arab cinematography features prominently in the 74th Cannes film festival

7 July 2021

The 74th Cannes International Film Festival opened yesterday (6 July) after being cancelled last year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The festival, held in Cannes, France, previews films of all genres, including documentaries from all over the world. This year, the festival had a remarkable Arab presence despite the pandemic both at the level of films participating in the official competition as well as in the parallel categories on the margins of the main event.

The Algerian actor, Taher Rahim participated in the official competition for the first time, after participating in other categories in earlier editions of the festival. Tunisian director Kaouthar Ben Hania, whose film “The Man Who Sold His Skin” was nominated for an Academy Award this year, also competed in the International Feature Film category. Egyptian director Sameh Alaa, who competed in the international feature film category, will also join the competition for the short film category and the Cine Foundation competition. 

As for movies, the Arab participation in the festival this year includes the Moroccan film “Casablanca Rhythms” directed by Nabil Ayouch. This is the first Moroccan  entry to compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or. French-Tunisian-Algerian director Hafsia Herzi competed with the film “Umm Taiba”, which tells the story of a housekeeper trying to help her son, who is arrested for involvement in a robbery. The Lebanese director, Elie Dagher, who previously won the Palme d’Or for the best short film in the movie “Move 98” (2015), is also seeking to get the prize for the second time with his film “The Sea Before You”. 

In addition to the usual country representation, a delegation from Film AlUla, the Royal Commission for AlUla’s newly established film agency, arrived at the festival to promote international film and TV production in the AlUla region of Saudi Arabia. Stephen Strachan, film commissioner at The Royal Commission for AlUla, said that the delegation aims to connect with the international film industry to introduce AlUla as a truly unique and exciting film destination open for International production. Other Saudi entities such as the MBC groups and the Red Sea film festival are also participating in the festival. 

 

Source: commonspace.eu with various sources. 
Picture: View from Red Carpet in Cannes Film Festival 2021

 

 

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Aden under curfew, as problem in Yemen's south deepens
Trending

Aden under curfew, as problem in Yemen's south deepens

8 January 2026
The port city of Aden, in Yemen's south, has been put under curfew, as the rift in the country between  the Saudi led coalition which  backs Yemen's presidential governing council, and the southern forces led by the Southern Transitional Council (STC), deepens. Abdul Rahman al-Mahrami, a member of the Yemeni Presidential Governing Council and commander of the al-Amalik brigades, has ordered a curfew in the temporary capital, Aden, "to maintain security". "A curfew has been imposed throughout Aden Governorate from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., in accordance with the instructions of Commander Abdul Rahman al-Mahrami, a member of the Presidential Management Council," the statement said. It states that only security and military personnel, as well as medical and technical teams with approved permits, will be allowed to move in the area during these hours. Yemen's presidential council, which is backed by Saudi Arabia and which already is in a struggle with the Houthi Movement in the north of the country who also occupy the capital Sanaa, two days ago issued an order for the arrest of the head of the Southern Transitional Council (STC),, Aidarous al Zubaidi. The STC have wide support among people in the South, and advocate that South Yemen restores its independence. The coalition warned of further escalation in Aden, long regarded as an STC stronghold, as the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) chief accused STC leader Aidarous Al Zubaidi of “high treason” and announced the revocation of his membership in the governing body. The moves mark a sharp escalation in tensions within the anti-Houthi camp, despite National Shield Forces, rivals of the STC and former allies, having recently retaken control of Hadhramaut and Mahra from southern fighters. The STC’s takeover of the two regions last month angered Saudi Arabia and contributed to igniting the current internal conflict. (click the picture to read more)

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov
Trending

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

15 January 2026
Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)
Murad Muradov
Lauri Nikulainen interviews Murad Muradov