I knew the Malmö Arab film festival (MAFF) In recent years through the publications that I saw on Facebook and I really wanted to participate. It therefore made me very happy this summer when I received an invitation to attend the 9th edition held from October 4 to 8, 2019.
I was happy to visit Sweden for the first time and above all curious to discover The peculiarities of an Arab film festival organized in a Western country, especially since the MAFF is actually the most important Arab film festival in Europe.
MAFF 2019 – The city of Malmö welcomes the festival
Braving the freezing cold, I had attended the same evening of my arrival at the Opening ceremony of the festival organized by the town hall of Malmö in a very beautiful former royal palace, built around 1650. Carina Nilsson, mayor of Malmö and Frida Trollmyr, president of the city’s cultural committee, each had a speech to say how much the festival was necessary in a city like Malmö, 35% of which is of foreign origin, in particular Iraqi and Syrian, and how the town hall encourages this cultural exchange between communities. They had insisted on the importance of this festival, which over the years had become the major cultural event of the city.
After the Swedish dinner offered by the town hall, the guests of the festival had moved to the Panora cinema for the screening of the opening film Look at me from Nejib Belkadhi, Tunisian cinema being the guest of honor for this 9th edition. Besides, five long and four Tunisian short films were on the program.
MAFF 2019 – Opening ceremony at the town hall of Malmö
Very often, in the various media, the public sees film festivals than red carpets, stars and their dresses, but these festivals are much more consistent and interesting than this glitter and glamorous aspect.
Regarding the MAFF, every day, there were various round tables, seminars and discussions on the theme of cinema. On the first day, moreover, I attended the panel “Tunisian cinema, yesterday, today and tomorrow” led by Tarek Ben Chabbane and Slim Ben Cheikh, during which they each exposed its point of view on Tunisian cinema and its evolution since the 1950s to the present day.
MAFF 2019 – Slim Ben Cheikh and Tarek Ben Chaabane and Tunisian cinema.
There were also everyday presentations (or pitch) of film projects in front of juries who had to select the projects to which prices would be awarded.
I love this atmosphere because we practice practically the birth of a film, while it is still only at the stage of an idea carried by a screenwriter, a director or even a producer. I like when a person is there, and with the help of photos, videos or sketches, exhibits their project and tries to convince. She presents her film, her story, the reasons that pushed her to want to do so, where she intends to shoot it, with which actors …
Sometimes this person is very convincing and even overwhelming, so much they are passionate. This was the case of the Palestinian actress Areen Omari who came to talk about her documentary project Looking for Saadawhich will be produced by the Palestinian Rashid Masharawi and the Swedish Linda Mutawi.
AREEN’s mother has always told them that during her youth she had been an actress and had played an important role in an American film. Of course, no one had ever believed it. Worse, over the years, the whole family thought they were derailed a little. However, lately, this film is reappeared. The old lady said true….
The project Looking for Saada has also won a help of 75,000 SEK offered by the Swedish Film Institute.
Maff 2019 – Areen Omari and Rashid Masharawi present their film project “Looking for Saada”
In addition to projections in certain schools and universities, for 6 years the MAFF has also extended to two other cities, Stockholm and Helsingborg, to reach a greater number of spectators and promote Arab culture to a larger and more diverse audience.
I wanted to go to the screening of the Egyptian film Ext.night by Ahmad Abdallah (which will also win the prize for the best film) in Helsingborg. Throughout the journey, I could see how beautiful the Swedish campaign is. Huge expanses of greenery, with pretty wooden farms, and even a huge windmill, as we see on postcards.
The experience was also enriching on the human level. In this small town, the spectators, both Swedish and Arab, had moved numerous and had participated with interest in the debate which had followed the projection.
MAFF 2019 – Debate after the screening of Ext.night in Helsingborg, in the presence of the two main actors in the film
In Malmö, as I knew practically all the selected fiction feature films, I tried every day to see a maximum of documentaries and short films, which for the most part were very interesting.
I was finally able to see the short film Sheikh watermelons From Kaouthar Ben Hania. Very beautiful film. All in finesse and subtlety. The director criticizes the hypocrisy of certain Tunisians, who under the guise of religion, try to usurp power, even if it means using subterfuges and scams. Sheikh watermelons has also won the price for the best achievement.
I was also able to see the short film Shouka We Sekina (fork and knife)of the young Egyptian director Adam Abdel Ghaffar. Very beautiful film which leads us into the complexity of couples relationships. STAIN YASSINE, one of the three main actors in the film, was also among the guests of this edition of the MAFF.
I was impatient and very excited to see Shouka We Sekina Because during the first edition of the El Gouna Film Festival in September 2017, I had already attended the pitch of this film projectand I had had an excellent memory. I wanted to know if the film was up to the presentation. He was.
Debates with the public followed all the projections, which were mostly done at closed counters. What was still curious, was that I noticed that most of the time, the spectators who asked the most questions were the Arabs. Europeans rarely working, although discussions were made in English.
Every evening, the MAFF organized “Arabian Nights”: before the screening of the film from 10 p.m., a Syrian buffet and oriental music welcomed spectators and guests, in a cordial and warm atmosphere, which made it possible to get to know, discuss, exchange …
MAFF 2019 – Musicians to animate the Arabian Nights
Through these different activities, the MAFF tries to promote meetings between European and Arabic cinema professionals for better collaboration between them and to allow an audience of Arab origin to stay in contact with its culture, while sharing it with Europeans who have the curiosity to be interested in it.
Indeed, thanks to a beautiful selection of the most beautiful Arab films of the year, the MAFF allows a different culture audience and having different priorities, to have access to Arab thought expressed by these films. Cinema generally having an aesthetic vision and a common language allowing spectators of all nationalities to interaction with the work of art.
Furthermore, this European public thus has the opportunity to have a different reading and angle of view on various subjects that the media place in the foreground, such as extremism, religious terrorism, clandestine immigration, the rights of women and minorities….
It would also be interesting to know if a study was made to measure the impact that this festival has on the inhabitants of Malmö. Have spectators acquired a greater understanding of Arab culture? Has their approach concerning certain topical subjects changed? Did this culture make them want to know more about this region of the world, or even to visit it? Etc….
For my part, to try a little to get to know this country, I devoted my last morning to Malmö to discover the city and its architecture. Unfortunately, I had not had time to visit its museums, or even to stress me to one of its restaurants to discover the local cuisine. I hope I could do it during the 10th edition which is scheduled from October 8 to 13, 2020.
Neïla Driss
