The Arab Cinema Center (ACC) has just unveiled the complete list of appointments for the ninth edition of the Awards for Arab Films Critics. Over the years an unmissable event in the Cannes calendar, this initiative celebrates the excellence of contemporary Arab cinema and strongly affirms the desire to resonate the Arab voices on the international scene, at the very heart of the global effervescence that the Cannes Festival represents.
The award ceremony will be held on May 17, 2025, on the Croisette, on the sidelines of the festival. It is organized in partnership with Mad Solutions and the International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA). This year, a record number of 281 film critics-including myself-from 75 countries, took part in the vote to designate the finalists among 63 films.
Among the most distinguished films are Thank You For Banking With Us! (Palestine), Everybody LOVES TOUDA (Morocco), Ghost Trail/Ghosts (France) and Seeking Haven For Mr. Rambo (Egypt), each appointed five times. Aïchaof the Tunisian director Mehdi Barsaoui, follows closely with four nominations.
Many films named have already circulated in major festivals and received international recognition. The Palestinian documentary No Other Landwritten and directed by Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor, has thus won several major prizes, including the Oscar 2025 for best documentary. From Ground Zerofrom Rashid Masharaoui, also appeared in the Oscar shortlist this same year. The latter had been presented for the first time in 2024, at the Palais des Festivals, as part of an event parallel to the Cannes Film Festival, before experiencing wide international dissemination.
Several named works had also been selected at Cannes 2024. Everybody LOVES TOUDAfrom Nabil Ayouch, had been presented in the section A certain look And now has five nominations. Norahproduced by Tawfik Alzaidi, who had received a special mention from the jury in this same section, is appointed in two categories. The village Next to Paradisefrom Mo Harawe, also selected at A certain lookobtained three nominations.
Tunisia is particularly distinguished this year, with a marked presence in the different categories: Mehdi Barsaoui is appointed for the best scenario with Aïcha ; Adam Bessa is in the running for the price of the best actor for Ghost Trail ; Majd Mastoura also contributes in this category to Agora of Ala Eddine Slim; Amin Bouhafa signs the music of Aïchaappointed for the price of best music, and the director of photography Wojciech Staron is appointed for his work on Red Pathmade by Lotfi Achour.
Here is the complete list of appointments:
Best feature film
- Thank You For Banking With Us! | Laila Abbas | Palestine
- Everybody LOVES TOUDA | Nabil Ayouch | Morocco
- Seeking Haven For MR. Rambo | Khaled Mansour | Egypt
- Aïcha | Mehdi Barsaoui | Tunisia
- Ghost Trail | Jonathan Millet | France
Best director
- Laila Abbas | Thank You For Banking With Us!
- Nabil Ayouch | Everybody LOVES TOUDA
- Khaled Mansour | Seeking Haven For MR. Rambo
- Jonathan Millet | Ghost Trail
- Mahdi Fleifel | To a landnown
Best scenario
- Laila Abbas | Thank You For Banking With Us!
- Nabil Ayouch & Maryam Touzani | Everybody LOVES TOUDA
- Mehdi Barsaoui | Aïcha
- Jonathan Millet & Florence Rochat | Ghost Trail
- Mo Harawe | The village Next to Paradise
Best actor
- Try Omar | Seeking Haven For MR. Rambo
- Adam Bessa | Ghost Trail
- Yagoub Alfarhan | Norah
- Muhammad Farrag | See! See! See!
- Majd Mastoura | Agora
Best actress
- Yasmine Al Massri | Thank You For Banking With Us!
- Nisrin Erradi | Everybody LOVES TOUDA
- Hala rajab | Ghost Trail
- Diamand Abou Abboud | Arzé
- Rakeen Saad | Seeking Haven For MR. Rambo
Best photograph
- Antoine Héberlé | Aïcha
- Mostafa el Kashef | The village Next to Paradise
- Thodoros Mihopoulos | To a landnown
- Jonathan Sela | The Strangers’ Case
- Wojciech Staron | Red Path
Best editing
- Heba Othman | Thank You For Banking With Us!
- Yasser Azmy | Seeking Haven For MR. Rambo
- Joana Scrinzi | The village Next to Paradise
- Ahmed Hafez | See! See! See!
- Noaz Deshe & Felipe Guerrero | Xoftex
Best music
- Kristian Eidnes Andersen & Flemming Nordkrog | Everybody LOVES TOUDA
- Amin Bouhafa | Aïcha
- Omar Fadel | Norah
- Florencia di concilio | The Vanishing
- Erasmo Rodrigo | Samia
Best documentary
- No Other Land
- Diaries from Lebanon
- A FIDAH Film
- Sudan, Remember Us
- From Ground Zero
Best short film
- After the Sun
- Upshot
- Mango
- Shadows
- A short film about kids
Launched for the first time during the 70th Cannes Film Festival, this Prize organized by ACC in collaboration with Festival Scope, honors each year the most striking Arab films released outside the Arab world. It covers ten major categories, ranging from the feature to the original music, including the documentary, the photograph or the short film.
Since its creation, ACC has imposed itself as an essential international platform for the promotion of Arab cinema. By accompanying emerging talents, promoting connections with festivals and markets around the world, the Arab Cinema Center plays a structuring role in the consolidation of an open, demanding and ambitious Arab cinematographic ecosystem.
Neïla Driss
