Arab film festivals 2026

In July 2026 the Arab cinematic calendar featured two high‑profile festivals. Casablanca opened the 7th Arab Film Festival (July 17‑24), showcasing 29 Arab films—from feature‑length dramas to shorts—produced across Morocco, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria, Algeria, Oman, Bahrain, the UAE and others. A jury led by Palestinian director Rachid Mesh’hraoui adjudicated the competition, and awards aimed to raise the profile of Arab and Moroccan cinema.

Later in the month, Amman launched its own seventh edition, the Amman International Film Festival – First Film, under the theme “Beyond the Frame.” The event highlighted human creativity in an age of AI and digital imagery, paid tribute to late Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Bakri, and featured a selection of Arab films from Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. ART offered a $10,000 prize for a developing Arab narrative feature, and juries evaluated projects in development and post‑production, reinforcing the region’s push to nurture emerging talent.

Together, the two festivals illustrate a coordinated push across the Arab world in 2026 to celebrate, support, and export contemporary Arab cinema.