Three European feature films were selected as finalists for the Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films (Arab Critics’ Prize for European Films), a distinction created jointly by theEuropean Film Promotion (EFP – Promotion of European Cinema) and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC – Arab Cinema Center), in partnership with the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. Among the twenty films submitted this year, the jury, made up of one hundred film critics from sixteen Arabic-speaking countrieschose Deaf (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 personally have the honor of being among the hundred Arab critics participating in this prestigious vote, an initiative aimed at strengthening the visibility of European films in the Arab world and encouraging cultural exchanges between the two regions.
The movie Deafthe first feature film from Spanish director Eva Libertad, is an intimate adaptation of her short film of the same name. Inspired by her own family experience, the filmmaker features her sister, Miriam Garlo, who is deaf in life and on screen, to tell the story of the relationship of a mixed couple – a deaf woman and her hearing partner – confronted with motherhood and communication barriers. Libertad explores with great delicacy the tensions, misunderstandings and tenderness that run through this silent love story, revealing the emotional richness of the characters’ inner world. Presented at the Berlinale in the section Panorama, Deaf won the Audience Award and the Art House Cinema Prize. He then triumphed at the Málaga Festival, where he received six awards, including those of the Best filmfrom the Best actress and of Best Actor. The film also won the Latin American Critics Award for European Films (Latin American Critics Prize for European Films) at the Guadalajara Festival. Produced by Distinto Films, Nexus CreaFilms and A Contracorriente Films, Deaf is distributed internationally by Madrid-based company Latido Films.
Second film selected, DJ Ahmetthe first feature film by Macedonian director Georgi M. Unkovski, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2025, where he won the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award (World Cinema Audience Award – fiction section) as well as a Special Jury Prize for Creative Vision. The story takes place in a remote village in North Macedonia and tells the story of Ahmet, a young fifteen-year-old shepherd whose discovery of electronic music turns his life upside down. His dream of becoming a DJ comes up against tradition, family expectations and forbidden love. Through this character, Unkovsky depicts a form of silent resistance, that which is born in the margins, when inner freedom defies the weight of heritage. With a rare visual lyricism, DJ Ahmet captures the raw beauty of the Macedonian landscapes and the vitality of a young man trying to impose his voice in a world that would like to silence him. Co-produced by Cinema Futura and Sektor Film (North Macedonia), Alter Vision and Analog Vision (Czech Republic), Backroom Production and Baš Čelik (Serbia) as well as 365 Films (Croatia), the film is distributed internationally by Films Boutique.
Finally, Yunanthe second feature film by Syrian-Palestinian filmmaker Ameer Fakher Eldin, is an introspective and poetic work about exile, solitude and the quest for meaning. The film follows the journey of an Arab man who arrives on an isolated island in northern Germany, determined to end his life. His encounter with a marginalized German community, marked by conservatism and precariousness, gradually changes his perception of the world and of himself. Filmed in the austere beauty of northern landscapes, Yunan deploys a silent dialogue between man and nature, between inner exile and the possibility of renewal. The film was in competition at the Berlinale and won the Golden Firebird Award of Best Actor (Georges Khabbaz) and the Best actress (Hanna Schygulla) Hong Kong International Film Festival. Produced by Dorothe Beinemeier for Red Balloon Film (Germany), in co-production with Microclimat Film (Canada) and Intramovies (Italy), as well as Fresco Films, Metafora Productions and Tabi360, Yunan is distributed by Intramovies, while Mad Solutions handles sales for the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa).
These three finalists each embody in their own way a plural Europe, crossed by universal questions: communication and silence (Deaf), emancipation and inheritance (DJ Ahmet), exile and rebirth (Yunan). They also reflect the vitality of a European auteur cinema capable of dialoguing with the Arab world, by telling deeply human stories.
The winning film of this sixth edition will be revealed during the El Gouna Film Festival (October 16 – 24, 2025).
Launched in 2019, the Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films (Arab Critics’ Prize for European Films) was born from the partnership between the EFP and the ACC. This price is a variation of Critics’ Awards for Arab Films (Critics Prize for Arab Films) created by the same center. The objective is twofold: to encourage the dissemination of quality European works in the Arab world and to highlight the essential role of Arab critics in cultural discovery and mediation.
Since its creation, this prize has recognized several notable films: 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 program Creative Europe – MEDIA of the European Union, this initiative illustrates the common desire of its founders: to encourage dialogue between cultures through the eyes of critics, and to celebrate cinema as a universal language capable of transcending borders.
Neila Driss
