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The year 2023 witnessed the success of a number of Arab films in reaching international festivals and receiving awards confirming their high artistic value.
Despite the technical successes, the number remains very small in numbers; Unlike international lists, in which the viewer may have difficulty choosing among the works due to their large number, Arab films include a group of works that may make it difficult to complete a list of 10 films.
Below, we review the most prominent Arab films shown in 2023:
1- Goodbye Julia (Sudan)
The film “Goodbye Julia” by director Mohamed Kordofani went through a long journey between international and local festivals. A journey that began at the Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the “Un Certain Regard” and “Golden Camera” awards. It became the first Sudanese film to be shown during the festival, and then it traveled to the “Chicago”, “Palm Springs” and “Warsaw” festivals, and eventually landed in the competition. Official El Gouna Film Festival.
“Goodbye Julia” is an example of localism leading to globalism. The film, which starred Iman Youssef and Siran Riak; He presented a simple story about the friendship that brought together two Sudanese women, one from the north and the other from the south, but this relationship summarized the differences between the two regions, and some animosities that continued for generations, and ultimately led to Sudanese secession.
The excellence of “Goodbye, Julia” appears on several levels. Starting with the scenario that focused on the specific logic of each action and reaction of the characters, and the photography and sound tape that smoothly highlighted the differences and points of convergence between the two regions, and the representation of the two actresses in two very complex roles, each of them has its own terrifying secrets that affect the relationship, but that did not prevent them from communicating as women. They are, in the end, victims of this conflict, and of course above all that, the vision of director Mohamed Kordofani, whose first feature film is his first feature film, to become the best beginning of a strong future career.
2- White lie (Morocco)
The Moroccan documentary film “White Lies” went through a similar journey to that of the film “Goodbye Julia”, and perhaps richer as it won two awards from the Cannes Film Festival, namely “Golden Eye” and best director in the “Un Certain Regard” competition for director names, in addition to awards and nominations. Among many other festivals.
The film combined documentary and animation at the same time. The director, the director, created a miniature model of her family’s home, and dolls for each of them, while this family represents another miniature model of the entire Moroccan society. We find that we are faced with a simple plot, but it forces the viewer to use his mind to decipher the complex relationships of this family. Family.
Director Asmaa Al-Moadir is the daughter of a simple Moroccan family, controlled by the tyrannical old grandmother, from whom no one escaped her control. In the past, this grandmother forced the family members not to stand in front of the camera, relying on myths about this tool that may steal lives, but after decades we find this woman. She and the rest of the family are forced to stand in front of the granddaughter’s movie camera and join her in recalling the memories and lies they hid behind.
“White Lies” was distinguished by the extreme frankness of the director and her family, and his intelligence in rereading some historical events, and making them a beacon for hoping for a different future for Morocco.
3- Bye Bye Tiberias (Palestine)
Another documentary joins this list, which is the film “Bye Bye Tiberias” directed by Lina Sawalem, which Palestine chose to represent it in the competition for the Oscar for Best International Film, after going through its own journey between various festivals. The work was shown at the Venice, Toronto and London film festivals, in addition to the El Gouna Film Festival within the framework of the parallel program for Palestinian films.
Bye Bye Tiberias presents a double plot; It tells the story of 4 generations of women in the director’s family: the great-grandmother, “Umm Ali,” then the director’s grandmother, “Namaat,” and her mother, the international actress Hiam Abbas, and in the end herself, but the stories of these women intersect with a larger story, which is the story of Palestine, beginning from the Nakba until today. .
The story of any Palestinian woman cannot be isolated from the impact of the occupation, even in the simplest matters of life. As a result of the Nakba, the grandmother migrated from her city of Tiberias to “Deir Hanna,” and her daughter, “Nimaat,” left school and the future she had dreamed of before. Because of the Israeli presence, the young woman at the time, “Hiyam,” felt Abbas felt the desire to escape, in search of what he called “new air.” She began her career as an actress, and gave birth to her daughter, “Lina,” whom she took after she completed her first year to Palestine to imbibe the history of previous generations of the family’s women and retell their story with the utmost sensitivity and in a way that captivated viewers around the world.
4- Night Representative (Saudi Arabia)
From Saudi Arabia comes the film “Night Representative,” which was shown during the Turin Film Festival, then competed for the Best Film Award at the Zurich Film Festival. It was directed by Ali Al-Kalthami, co-written with Muhammad Al-Qarawi, and starring Muhammad Al-Dokhi.
The film’s events revolve around a young Saudi man with limited income and talent, Fahd, who is fired from his job due to his careless behavior. He moves to work as a delivery person and robs an illegal factory for making alcoholic beverages, which leads him into many adventures on different levels, whether with criminals or his family.
The film “Night Representative” combined a tight scenario, whether in the escalation of its plot, dialogue, and character building, in addition to a different depiction of the city of Riyadh, whose popular neighborhoods and night world the director presented, and monitored the lives of marginal and low-income residents who compete on a daily basis with those with class and economic privileges. .
5- Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano (Lebanon)
The Lebanese film “Dancing on the Edge of the Volcano” tells the story of the making of another film, “Costa Brava,” but this story is only the threshold of the text, or an entrance to the original story that director Cyril Aris wants to present; The story of his favorite city, Beirut, about which he previously made “Beirut I Love You.”
“Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano” premiered at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where it received a special mention from the jury. The work begins with a watershed moment in the life of the city, immediately after the Beirut Port explosion, an incident that becomes the straw that breaks the back of the city’s residents. Those suffering from the effects of the Corona epidemic in 2020.
The film reviews that period against the backdrop of filming the film “Costa Brava”, which also presented a distinctly Beiruti story, about the lives of the residents of the city that suffers from pollution, devastation, and the effects of multiple civil wars. The viewer finds that he is faced with a multi-layered plot that does not only present the story of a film, but also captures a moment. Sad of time and put it into study.
The absence of the Egyptian film from the list of the best Arab films in 2023 seems noticeable, indicating the decline in the level of “East Hollywood” films this year, and the tendency of most of them to repeat specific themes and cinematic genres, in addition to modest implementation, while Sudanese and Saudi cinema, which are witnessing a great awakening, were present. In previous years.
