Three Films Dominate the ACC’s 8th Critics Awards for Arab Films
GOODBYE JULIA, FOUR DAUGHTERS, and INSHALLAH A BOY were the big winners of this year’s Critics Awards for Arab Films, each picking up multiple prizes at a beach-side ceremony held during the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
Organized by the Arab Cinema Center, in collaboration with MAD Solutions, the International Emerging Film Talent Association, and NEFT Emerging Film Talent International Competition, this eighth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films saw 225 recognized film critics from around the world selecting the best achievements in Arab filmmaking during 2023. All of these critics had the opportunity to view the films through the ACC’s partner, Festival Scope.
Mohamed Kordofani’s GOODBYE JULIA won both Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay. Kaouther Ben Hania’s FOUR DAUGHTERS, which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Academy Awards, won for Best Director, Best Documentary, and Best Editing.
Mouna Hawa was named Best Actress for her performance in INSHALLAH A BOY, which also won for Best Cinematography. Saleh Bakri was named Best Actor for his lead role in THE TEACHER.
This year’s edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films introduced a new Best Short Film category, which was won by Morad Mostafa’s I PROMISE YOU PARADISE. Other winners included Amin Bouhafa’s Saudi feature HAJJAN, which won for Best Music.
The list of the winners is as follows:
Best Feature Film
GOODBYE JULIA | Mohamed Kordofani | Sudan
Best Director
Kaouther Ben Hania | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
Best Screenplay
Mohamed Kordofani | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Best Actress
Mouna Hawa | INSHALLAH A BOY | Jordan
Best Actor
Saleh Bakri | THE TEACHER | Palestine
Best Documentary
FOUR DAUGHTERS | Kaouther Ben Hania | Tunisia
Best Short Film
I PROMISE YOU PARADISE | Morad Mostafa | Egypt
Best Music
HAJJAN | Amin Bouhafa | Saudi Arabia
Best Cinematography
Kanamé Onoyama | INSHALLAH A BOY | Jordan
Best Editing
Qutaiba Barhamji | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
About the Arab Critics Awards for Arab Films
Launched in 2017 by the ACC at the Cannes Film Festival, the Arab Critics Awards for Arab Films provides a platform for a distinguished jury of more than 200 prominent international film critics to select and honor the best of recent Arab cinema across numerous award categories.
About the Arab Cinema Center
Created by MAD Solutions in 2015, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) is a nonprofit organization registered in Berlin that serves as a global promotional and networking platform for Arab cinema, connecting Arab film professionals with their counterparts from all over the world.
Visible at major film markets and festivals around the world, the ACC hosts one-on-one meetings, organizes panel discussions and seminars, and publishes regular print editions of its English-language Arab Cinema Magazine, which offers data and insights on the Arab cinema industry.
The ACC’s website, which carries an online version of Arab Cinema Magazine, also provides news on the ACC’s activities, notifications of application dates for grants, festivals, and offers from educational and training institutions, updates on Arab films participating at festivals, developments at the Arab Cinema LAB, and highlights from the ACC’s partners and their future projects.
