The Girl On The Train (Opening Film)
Director: Tate Taylor
USA
The story of Rachel Watson's life post-divorce. Every day, she takes the train to work in London, an...
View Details →2016
Edition 16
72 Films
4 Sections
Jury & Awards
The Jury
Carlos Chahine
President of the Jury
Nada Doumani
Pierre Abi Saab
Aleph Awards
BEST DOCUMENTARY
"Sonita"
by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami
2ND BEST DOCUMENTARY (ex equo)
"The War Show"
by Obaidah Zytoon & Andreas Dalsgaard
2ND BEST DOCUMENTARY (ex equo)
"I Am Not Your Negro"
by Raoul Peck
AUDIENCE VOTE BEST FEATURE FILM
"Heartstone"
by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
SGBL AWARD - BEST SHORT FILM (ex equo)
"That Beautiful Night"
by Michel Achkar
SGBL AWARD - BEST SHORT FILM (ex equo)
"After Where to After?"
by Rafat Abou El Dihab
2ND BEST SHORT FILM
"Gomorrah"
by Taïssa Matti
3RD BEST SHORT FILM
"Sabotage"
by Diogo Costa Amarante
SPECIAL MENTION SHORT FILM
"The Cup"
by Yasmin Shahabi
SPECIAL MENTION SHORT FILM
"Cracks"
by Mohsen Nabil Saleh
Panorama (25 films)
Complete Unknown
Director: Joshua Marston
USA
As a man contemplates moving to a new state with his wife for her graduate program, an old flame - a...
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D'une Pierre Deux Coup
Director: Fejria Deliba
France
Zayane is 75 years old. Ever since her arrival in France, she has never left her neighborhood. One d...
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Elle
Director: Paul Verhoeven
France, Germany, Belgium
Michèle seems indestructible. Head of a leading video game company, she brings the same ruthless att...
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Sweet Dreams
Director: Marco Bellocchio
Italy, France
Nine-year-old Massimo's idyllic childhood is shattered by the mysterious death of his mother. Years ...
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Fire at Sea
Director: Gianfranco Rosi
Italy
The film follows Samuele, a 12-year-old boy living on the island of Lampedusa, who enjoys playing ga...
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Human
Director: Yann Arthus-Bertrand
France
HUMAN is a collection of stories and images of our world, offering an immersion to the core of what ...
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Hunt For The Wilderpeople
Director: Taika Waititi
New Zealand
A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild N...
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Letters From Baghdad
Director: Sabine Krayenbühl, Zeva Oelbaum
UK, USA, France
The film tells the dramatic story of Gertrude Bell, a British spy, explorer, and political powerhous...
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Little Men
Director: Ira Sachs
USA, Greece
New pair of best friends have their bond tested by their parents’ battle over a dress shop lease....
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Lo and Behold
Director: Werner Herzog
UK, USA, France
Lo and Behold chronicles the virtual world from its origins to its outermost reaches, exploring the ...
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Love and Friendship
Director: Whit Stillman
Ireland, Netherlands, France, USA
Lady Susan Vernon takes up temporary residence at her in-laws’ estate and, while there, she is deter...
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My Name is Adil
Director: Adil Azzab
Italy / Morocco
The true story of Adil, a boy who grew up in the Moroccan countryside and at 13 joined his father wh...
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Personal Affairs
Director: Maha Haj
Israel/Palestine
Nazareth today: an old couple lives wearily to the rhythm of the daily routine. On the other side of...
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Personal Shopper
Director: Olivier Assayas
France
Maureen is a young American in Paris making her living as a personal shopper for a celebrity. Also, ...
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Post Beiroet
Director: Maria Mok
Netherlands
The Dutch embassy in Lebanon, under the leadership of Hester Somsen, has the difficult mission to en...
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The Dancer
Director: Stephanie Di Giusto
France
Nothing in her background destined Loïe Fuller from the American Midwest to become a Belle Epoque ic...
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The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood
Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Iran
The film is about an anthropologist and his daughter, occurring during three different periods: befo...
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The Student
Director: Kirill Serebrennikov
Russia
Veniamin, a teenager in the midst of a mystical crisis, has his mother, schoolmates, and entire high...
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World Cup
Director: Mohamad & Ahmad Malas
Syria
A Syrian young man tries to form a football team in order to participate in the World Cup of 2018. I...
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The First Monday in May (Closing Film)
Director: Andrew Rossi
USA
The film follows the creation of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's most attended fashion exhibition i...
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Bahr
Director: Crystal Samia
Lebanon
Lost in the darkness of the night, wrapped with the feeling of guilt, sorrow, grief and shame... He ...
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It Hits Upon the Roof
Director: Teymour Ghaderi
Iran
A young boy is at home, alone with his sick mother. It is raining outside and the roof of their home...
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Refugee Camp
Director: Saeed Naghavian
Iran
Immigration? Yes or no? Is there another way? Please wait......
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The Learning Alliance
Director: Muhammad Umar Saeed
Pakistan
Collecting garbage for earning money in order to pay their fees for school. Three brothers who are c...
View Details →Middle Eastern Competition (9 films)
Afro Turk
Director: Ibrahim Mohammad
Turkey
Life story and living conditions of the people of African descent who came to Anatolia a few centuri...
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Cross the Line
Director: Khaled Bin Sahli
UAE
The documentary follows Essa Al Bastaki, who is trying to pursue his dreams of becoming a Cosplay de...
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Dyab
Director: Mazin M Sherabayani
Iraq
12 years old Dyab is a Kurdish Yazidi boy living at Arbat refugee camp after the horrendous attacks ...
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Finding My Lebanon
Director: Mark Abouzeid
Lebanon, Italy, USA
The film tells the story of a "modern nomad" who, raised without knowledge of his roots, embarks on ...
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Love
Director: Waddah Alfahed
Syria
After two and a half years of war and siege in Homs, old couple return back to their home, discoveri...
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Overruled
Director: Farmaz Jurabchian, Mohammadreza Jurabchian
Canada, Iran
Overruled is a documentary that recounts the lives and hopes of young Afghan refugees in Iran. They ...
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Robert !
Director: Ghina Abboud
Lebanon
Robert, 57, stuck in his past with the beautiful image of old Beirut, plays music in his small barbe...
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The Sheikh of Musaffah
Director: Waleed Al Madani
UAE
Born and raised amongst the ruins of damaged engines and mistreated cars. Diving into a story where ...
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This is Exile
Director: Mani Y Benchelah
Lebanon, Switzerland
"This is Exile" is an extraordinary, intimate portrait of child refugees forced to flee from the vio...
View Details →Short Film Competition (20 films)
Astray
Director: Lubna Bagsair
UAE, Dubai
Haya and Hassan find themselves in a compromising police investigation. They are given an ultimatum:...
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Azad
Director: Yakup Tekintangaç
Turkey
Azad was forced to immigrate to Istanbul with his mother. As the mother goes off to work every day, ...
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Feno
Director: Estepan Khattar
Lebanon
Féno, a twelve-year-old boy who lives in Batroun, suffers from an eye disease which will eventually ...
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Five
Director: Omar Adam
UAE
Younes might be sick and is waiting for medical test results. He has locked himself in his apartment...
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Hayat Beirut
Director: Mohammed Monla
Lebanon
A man from Beirut, living in his old house stuck in the year 1960. One day, he finds a letter from K...
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I Don't Even Like Her
Director: Christelle Al-Kayssar
Lebanon
Youssef, at the age of 8, is in love with his classmate Rana. As the summer draws near, Youssef has ...
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Karouma
Director: Boubaker Boukhari
Algeria
Born with a birth defect, Karouma had to live without his arms. With the help of his parents, he lea...
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Maihoda
Director: Mariam AL Zaabi
UAE
The film takes place in a house garden where a little girl, Reem, and her blind grandfather spend mo...
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Motorcycle
Director: Mohammad Alholayyil
Saudi Arabia
Khalil’s motorcycle breaks down and he has to use public transportation. Will he let people interfer...
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Pale Mirrors
Director: Salem Salavati
Iran
"Shawbo" is a woman who has only 24 hours to be pregnant. This might be her last opportunity to be a...
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Raconte-Moi Le Petit Prince
Director: Jad Makki
Belgium
"Draw me a sheep!" Between dream and reality, the silhouette of a child appears suddenly from the sk...
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Sonar
Director: Mohammad Salam
Iraq
The film focuses on the idea of trading Arab children, highlighting the exploitation of minors under...
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South Pole
Director: Emin Akpinar
Turkey
Muhsin is a retired, simple man who lives in an old house with his wife. One day, he sees his own mu...
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The Boss
Director: Rzgar Husen
Iraq
A group of boys loses their football field and swimming place, which is taken by the "tiger" group. ...
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The Holy Pole
Director: Elie Chahine
Lebanon
Three 12 years old students run away from school to experience Beirut's nightlife and backstreets, a...
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The Next One
Director: Gündüz Sevdi
Turkey
Umut works at the family-owned oil change business with his dad and his older brother. Although he g...
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The Pain
Director: Ali Asgari
France, Iran
A young man suffers from severe toothache. On his visit to the dentist, the doctor refuses to help h...
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The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf & The Boy
Director: Oualid Mouaness
Lebanon
Two brothers cross the line when they use a household rifle without their father’s consent to unexpe...
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The Salt Man
Director: Seyed Sajad Moosavi
Iran, USA, UAE, Armenia
Being left unsupported, Dr. Sa'id 'Aram, a genius artist, is obliged to work in a salt mine with his...
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Through Pink Glass
Director: Layal Akiki
Lebanon
Celine is 5 years old, her companion is a small toy bunny and they both wear glasses. Today Celine i...
View Details →Rejection Front (18 films)
6660
Director: Michelle Mourabes
Lebanon
The movie tells the story of a little orphan girl who lives in the streets and steals to survive. Af...
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Because You Are a Girl
Director: Farah Hamzeh
UAE
A short narrative film that discusses the girl's life in her perspective against the society....
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Hungry
Director: Kerem Tekoglu
Turkey
The film addresses the disparity between the very poor, who search for food, and the very wealthy, w...
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Iman
Director: Mina Magdy Rizk
Egypt
A 14-minute story of power, solidarity, patience, and women's faith, focusing on a family of six and...
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Invisible Mothers
Director: Lorenzo Benitez
Morocco
Hafida is a single mother in Tangier. She runs away from home when got pregnant. Some years later sh...
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Junk Girl
Director: Shalale Kheiri, Mohammad Zare
Iran
There once was a girl who was made up of junk. She looked really dirty, and she smelled like a skunk...
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K2 and The Invisible Footmen
Director: Iara Lee
Pakistan
The film chronicles the lives of the indigenous porters of Gilgit/Baltistan in Pakistan, highlightin...
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Masoumeh
Director: Sona Moghadam
Iran
Masoumeh Atai is attacked brutally by acid by her ex-husband's father 1.5 years after divorce. Despi...
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New Outfit
Director: Hatem El Awwa
Egypt
The story is about a doorman's daughter who is doing all she can to get a new outfit so the new resi...
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Nouran
Director: Nouran Al Chalati
UAE, Syria
Syrian artist speaks about the difficulties she faces as a refugee after she left Syria to pursue he...
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Omnia
Director: Amena Al Nowais
UAE
Omnia, a young Egyptian woman, is still struggling with an incident from her childhood that left her...
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Organo
Director: Ali Monthir
Iraq
A short film about the suffering of homeless children and their exploitation by human organ traffick...
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Save the Bridge
Director: Mohamed Qrayim
Sweden, Denmark
The bridge between Scandinavia and the Islamic world, built in the past by explorers and traders, ha...
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Second Win
Director: Nateq Saade
Iraq
Yassin wins the match. But he thinks of another kind of victory in order to bring joy to those who d...
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Skin
Director: Farah Diab
Dubai, UAE
Skin takes us below the surface as we go on the journey with a young American teacher that is finall...
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The Absentees
Director: Tanya Daud
UAE
The Absentees is a story of thousands of Rohingyas, told through the voice of Raees, a refugee in Du...
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Tsukiji Wonderland
Director: Naotaro Endo
Japan
The film showcases the Tsukiji Market, known as Japan's Lively Kitchen, and its role in Japanese tra...
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There Will Be Water
Director: Per Liebeck
Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, England, Norway
The film follows engineer Bill Watts as he attempts to create a saltwater infrastructure in the dese...
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