Arab Cinema Steps Into Cannes Spotlight With Critics Awards Nominations
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The Arab Cinema Center has announced the nominees for the 10th edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films, giving Arab cinema a renewed international platform on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival.
The winners are scheduled to be announced on May 16 during a special ceremony at Plage des Palmes in Cannes, marking a decade since the awards were launched to recognize outstanding Arab films and filmmakers.
“Palestine 36,” directed by Annemarie Jacir, leads this year’s nominations with six nods, followed by Maryam Touzani’s “Calle Málaga” with five. Cherien Dabis’ “All That’s Left of You” received four nominations, while “Yunan,” “My Father’s Scent,” and “Once Upon a Time in Gaza” each earned three.
This year’s categories include best feature film, best documentary, best short film, best director, best screenplay, best actor, best actress, best cinematography, best editing and best music, reflecting the wide creative range of Arab filmmaking across the region and the diaspora.
The best feature film nominees are “Once Upon a Time in Gaza,” directed by Tarzan and Arab Nasser from Palestine; “Palestine 36,” directed by Annemarie Jacir from Palestine; “All That’s Left of You,” directed by Cherien Dabis from Palestine; “Calle Málaga,” directed by Maryam Touzani from Morocco; and “Cotton Queen,” directed by Suzannah Mirghani from Sudan.
Beyond the competition itself, the nominations show how Arab cinema continues to bring stories of memory, displacement, war, identity, women’s lives and social change to international audiences. The strong presence of Palestinian films across several categories also highlights the power of cinema to carry human and political narratives beyond the news cycle.
The awards are voted on by an international jury of 307 film critics from 75 countries, giving the nominations added critical weight and global visibility.
As Cannes approaches, the Critics Awards nominations offer Arab films another route toward festivals, distributors, streaming platforms and wider audiences, at a time when regional cinema is increasingly reaching beyond traditional markets.
