San Diego Arab Film Festival

San Diego Arab Film Festival is Back for Its 12th Year!

The San Diego Arab Film Festival is back for 2023 with live, in-person presentations of feature length and short films at the Museum of Photographic Arts. The Festival will open on Friday, March 3, and present 8 screenings, each showcasing one feature film and one short film, from across the Arab World. Each evening, the Festival will also offer cafeteria-style Arabic dinner.

Feature Films

The Festival opening night will feature the Palestinian film Alam, winner of the Best Film, Best Actor and Audience Awards at the Cairo International Film Festival. The following nights will showcase 2 other Oscar submissions, Tunisia's Under the Fig Trees and Palestine's Mediterranean Fever, as well as 5 other internationally recognized films. From the Arab Diaspora the Festival will present Jacir (filmed in Memphis, Tennessee) directed by Waheed AlQawasmi. The Festival will also showcase Life Suits Me Well from Morocco, Our River...Our Sky from Iraq, Memory Box from Lebanon and France and The Dam from Sudan.

Short Films

This year the Festival offers short films from across the Arab world representing a range of styles and genres. The final line up includes films that have been screened at Cannes as well as other international festivals. They include Hibernate and From the Mountain from Syria, Merge from Saudi Arabia, Ashes (Cendres) fromTunisia, Bouchaib from Morocco, Warsha from Lebanon, Hamza: Chasing the Ghost Chasing Me. from Palestine and Virtual Voice from Sudan and Qatar.

Tickets for individual screenings are $15 (discounted to $10 for students). Three-screening packages are available for $40 and passes for all 8 screenings for $80. Arabic dinners (including vegetarian option) will be available each evening for $15.

Host or Publisher The San Diego Arab and Muslim Communities Coalition