The Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films return for their eighth edition with a new line-up of 25 titles from across Europe. Presented by European Film Promotion (EFP) and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), the initiative brings a broad range of current European filmmaking into focus for critics across the Arab-speaking world, creating new opportunities for European films and filmmakers to gain visibility beyond their home territories. Three finalists will be selected ahead of the awards presentation at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt.

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This year’s selection comes with a strong festival pedigree, bringing together films that have already made their mark at Cannes, Sundance, the Berlinale, CPH:DOX and Karlovy Vary. The shortlisted films are Rose (Austria/Germany) by Markus Schleinzer, Coward (Belgium/France/Netherlands) by Lukas Dhont, Petty Thieves (Croatia/France/Germany) by Mate Ugrin, Hold Onto Me (Cyprus/Denmark/Greece) by Myrsini Aristidou, If Pigeons Turned to Gold (Czech Republic/Slovakia) by Pepa Lubojacki, If Luck Will Come (Denmark) by Camille Bildsøe, Morten (Estonia/Lithuania) by Ivan Pavljutškov, The Secret Reading Club of Kabul (Finland/Norway) by Shakiba Adil and Elina Hirvonen, Hijamat (Germany/Turkey) by Nader Saeivar, A Whole Person Almost (Greece/Bulgaria/Germany/Cyprus/Romania) by Efthimis Kosemund-Sanidis, Amongst the Birds (Iceland) by Ingvar Þórðarson, Ragnar Axelsson and Mika Kaurismaki, Homo Sive Natura (Italy) by Giovanni C Lorusso, Ulya (Latvia/Estonia/Poland) by Viesturs Kairiss, Women as Lovers (Germany/Luxembourg) by Koxi, To Hold a Mountain (Serbia/France/Montenegro/Slovenia/Croatia) by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić, A Family (Netherlands/Belgium) by Mees Peijnenburg, Skateboarding Is Not for Girls (North Macedonia/Belgium/Slovenia/Croatia) by Dina Duma, Árru (Norway/Sweden/Finland) by Elle Sofe Sara, Blossoming (Poland) by Kamila Serwicka, Aquí (Portugal/France) by Tiago Guedes, Atlas of the Universe (Romania/Bulgaria) by Paul Negoescu, Only Beautiful Things to Look At (Slovakia/Czech Republic/Hungary) by Ivan Ostrochovský, Everything That's Wrong With You (Slovenia/Germany/Serbia) by Ursa Menart, The Phantom Pain of Rojava (Sweden/Norway) by Maryam Ebrahimi and Dua by Blerta Basholli (Kosovo/Switzerland/France).

The Arab Critics’ Awards for European Films were launched in 2019 by EFP and the ACC as a spin-off of the ACC’s established Critics’ Awards. The initiative aims to broaden the range of European films reaching the Arab-speaking world and to generate interest among distributors and the wider industry, while at the same time highlighting the role of Arab film critics in introducing new cinematic voices and perspectives to audiences across the region.

Previous winners include God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya by Teona Strugar Mitevska (news), Undine by Christian Petzold, 107 Mothers by Peter Kerekes (news), EO by Jerzy Skolimowski (news), Fallen Leaves by Aki Kaurismäki (news), The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Mohammad Rasoulof (news) and Yunan by Ameer Fakher Eldin (news).