Three European feature films have been named finalists for the Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films, a distinction jointly organized by the European Film Promotion (EFP) and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), in partnership with the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. From a pool of twenty entries this year, a jury of one hundred Arab film critics from sixteen countries selected Deaf by Eva Libertad (Spain), DJ Ahmet by Georgi M. Unkovski (North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia), and Yunan by Ameer Fakher Eldin (Germany, Canada, Italy, Palestine, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia).
I am honored to be among the hundred critics participating in this vote, an initiative designed to highlight European films in the Arab world while fostering cultural exchange between the regions.
Eva Libertad’s debut feature, Deaf, is a deeply personal adaptation of her short film of the same name. Drawing from her own family experiences, Libertad casts her real-life sister, Miriam Garlo, who is deaf, to portray the intimate relationship between a deaf woman and her hearing partner as they prepare for parenthood. The film captures the emotional nuances of communication, tension, and quiet tenderness with remarkable sensitivity. Deaf premiered in the Panorama section at this year’s Berlinale, earning both the Audience Award and the Arthouse Cinema Award, and later won six prizes at the Málaga Festival, including Best Film, Best Actress, and Best Actor. The film also received the Latin American Critics Award for European Films at Guadalajara. Produced by Distinto Films, Nexus CreaFilms, and A Contracorriente Films, Deaf is represented internationally by Madrid-based Latido Films.
DJ Ahmet, the debut feature by North Macedonian director Georgi M. Unkovski, had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award and a Special Jury Award for Creative Vision. Set in a remote village in North Macedonia, the film follows 15-year-old Ahmet, a quiet shepherd whose discovery of electronic music sparks a desire for freedom and self-expression. Facing familial expectations, local traditions, and a forbidden romance, Ahmet navigates the tension between personal dreams and inherited silence. Filmed with both lyrical intimacy and bursts of vibrant energy, DJ Ahmet portrays the quiet revolution of a young man asserting his identity. The film is a co-production of Cinema Futura and Sektor Film (North Macedonia), Alter Vision and Analog Vision (Czech Republic), Backroom Production and Baš Čelik (Serbia), and 365 Films (Croatia), and is handled internationally by Films Boutique.
Ameer Fakher Eldin’s second feature, Yunan, is a contemplative and poetic exploration of exile, solitude, and the search for meaning. The film follows an Arab man who arrives on a remote island in northern Germany intending to end his life. Confronted with a conservative, marginalized local community and the overwhelming presence of nature, he slowly reconsiders his purpose. Shot against the stark beauty of windswept Nordic landscapes, Yunan examines emotional exile and the possibility of renewal. The film competed in this year’s Berlinale and earned the Golden Firebird Award for Best Actor (Georges Khabbaz) and Best Actress (Hanna Schygulla) at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Produced by Dorothe Beinemeier for Red Balloon Film (Germany), in co-production with Microclimat Film (Canada) and Intramovies (Italy), along with Fresco Films, Metafora Productions, and Tabi360, Yunan is represented internationally by Intramovies, with Mad Solutions managing MENA region sales.
These three finalists showcase Europe’s rich diversity and address universal themes: communication and silence (Deaf), self-expression versus tradition (DJ Ahmet), and exile and personal transformation (Yunan). They reflect the vitality of contemporary European auteur cinema and its capacity to resonate with Arab audiences.
The winner of this sixth edition will be announced during the upcoming El Gouna Film Festival, running from October 16 to 24, 2025.
Launched in 2019, the Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films was created to complement the ACC’s established Critics’ Awards, with the dual purpose of encouraging the circulation of European films in the Arab world and highlighting the essential role of Arab critics as cultural mediators and ambassadors.
Past winners have included God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya by Teona Strugar Mitevska (2019), Undine by Christian Petzold (2020), 107 Mothers by Peter Kerekes (2021), EO by Jerzy Skolimowski (2022), Fallen Leaves by Aki Kaurismäki (2023), and The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Mohammad Rasoulof (2024).
Supported by the Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union, this initiative celebrates cinema as a universal language capable of bridging cultures, while honoring the voices of Arab critics in shaping a meaningful dialogue between European and Arab audiences.
Neïla Driss
