From Gaza to Beirut and Cairo: Arab Films and Stories at TIFF’s 51st Edition

Arab cinema and stories from the region will have a notable presence at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, which runs in Toronto from September 10 to 20, 2026, with Palestinian, Lebanese and Egyptian films among the selections, alongside works connected to Morocco and prominent Arab figures.

Leading the Palestinian participation is Thirteen in Gaza, directed by Palestinian filmmaker Hosam Abu Dan. Selected for the Centrepiece programme, the 77 minute Arabic language film will have its World Premiere at TIFF. The film follows a father and his teenage daughter as they navigate daily life in a displacement camp in Gaza.

Palestinian filmmaker Muayad Alayan also joins the Centrepiece lineup with Conversation With The Sea. The 112 minute film, presented in Arabic, Hebrew and English, will have its North American Premiere in Toronto. Inspired by real events, the film follows a Palestinian father whose personal search becomes intertwined with the wider realities surrounding family, loss and life under political restrictions.

Lebanon is represented by Furies, directed by Rami Kodeih. The Lebanese Brazilian production will also screen in Centrepiece and have its North American Premiere at TIFF. Set against Beirut’s financial crisis and banking collapse, the film follows two sisters struggling to gain access to money held in the banking system when they urgently need funds for medical treatment.

Moroccan heritage is represented through French Moroccan filmmaker Hanaël El Yousfi, whose first feature The Daughters of Abraham, Les Filles d'Abraham, has been selected for TIFF’s Discovery programme. The 94 minute French production, presented in French and Arabic, will have its International Premiere in Toronto.

Arab participation also extends to TIFF’s short film programme. Palestinian filmmaker Sabrine Khoury presents A Tenderness, a Netherlands Palestine production screening as part of Short Cuts. The Arabic language short explores the experience of a young Palestinian mother living in Amsterdam as she adjusts to motherhood during a visit from her parents.

Egypt is represented in the Short Cuts programme through The Day I Smoked a Cigarette with My Father, co directed by Egyptian filmmaker Sameh Alaa and Robin Vouters. The 13 minute animated film is a France, Egypt and Belgium co production and will have its World Premiere at TIFF. Set in Cairo, the story centres on children waiting for their father to return home.

The programme also includes Imichki, a Canadian short connected to Morocco and directed by Yza Nouiga, adding another North African story to this year’s festival selection.

Palestinian intellectual and cultural history is also present in TIFF Docs through Edward Said: Between Worlds, directed by Maiken Baird. The 107 minute documentary will have its World Premiere in Toronto and traces the life and legacy of Palestinian American writer and scholar Edward Said, drawing on his personal and intellectual journey and his relationship with Palestine.

Together, the selections present an Arab presence that reaches beyond one country or one cinematic genre. The stories move from Gaza and Beirut to Cairo, Morocco and the Palestinian diaspora, bringing questions of family, displacement, economic hardship, identity, memory and belonging to audiences at one of North America’s major international film festivals.