Editor

European Film Promotion (EFP) and the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) are announcing 22 films from different European countries that have been nominated for the Arab Critics' Award for European Films.

Another 14 distinguished film critics have joined the jury this year, bringing the total to 56 of the most prominent and influential Arab film critics from 14 Arab-speaking countries. Put together by ACC, the jury under the direction of Ola Kamel Al-Sheikh will select the best European film from nominations submitted by the European national film institutions - EFP's member organisations. The awards ceremony will be hosted at this year's edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) in December.

The nominated films in alphabetical order:

Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus by Dalibor Baric, Croatia; A Loss of Something Ever Felt by Carlos Eduardo Lesmes López, Estonia; Apples by Christos Nikou, Greece; Bait by Mark Jenkin, UK; Charlatan by Agnieszka Holland, Czech Republic; Charter by Amanda Kernell, Sweden; Dead Souls' Vacation by Keko Chelidze, Georgia; Exil by Visar Morina, Kosovo*; Fear by Ivaylo Hristov, Bulgaria; Hope by Maria S¢dahl, Norway; Jumbo by Zoe Wittock, Luxembourg; Last and First Man by Jóhann Jóhannson, Iceland; My Favorite War by Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen, Latvia; Never Gonna Snow Again by Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert, Poland; Paradise Drifters by Mees Peijnenburg, The Netherlands; Preparations To Be Together For An Unknown Period of Time by Lili Horvát, Hungary; Quo vadis, Aida? by Jasmila Zbanic, Bosnia & Herzegovina; Saudi Runaway by Susanne Regina Meures, Switzerland; Schoolgirls by Pilar Palomero, Spain; Servants by Ivan Ostrochovsk¤, Slovakia; The Flood Won't Come by Marat Sargsyan, Lithuania; Undine by Christian Petzold, Germany.

The Arab film critics in alphabetical order:

Abdelkarim Ouakrim (Morocco), Abdelkrim Kadri (Algeria), Abdul Sattar Naji (Kuwait), Ahmed Sami (Egypt), Ahmed Shawky (Egypt), Aliaa Talaat (Egypt), Ali Wajeeh (Syria), Amal El-Gamal (Egypt), Andrew Mohsen (Egypt), Chaf Tabbara (Lebanon), Doha Elwardaney (Egypt), Erfan Rashid (Iraq), Essam Zakaria (Egypt), Fahad Alestsa (Saudi Arabia), Hammadi Gueroum (Morocco), Hassan Haddad (Bahrain), Hauvick Habéchian (Lebanon), Hind Mezaina (UAE), Houda Ibrahim (Lebanon), Husam Asi (Palestine), Ibrahim Haj Abdi (Syria), Ikbal Zalila (Tunisia), Kadhum Saloom (Iraq), Kais Kassem (Iraq), Khaled Mahmoud (Egypt), Khalid Ali (Sudan), Khalil Demmoun (Morocco), Lamia Guiga (Tunisia), Magda Khirallah (Egypt), Mahdi Abbas (Iraq), Mohamed Allal (Algeria), Mohamed Atef (Egypt), Mohamed Awad (Egypt), Mohamed Benaziz (Morocco), Mohammed Chouika (Morocco), Mohammed Rouda (Lebanon), Mohamed Sayed Abdelrehim (Egypt), Nabil Hadji (Algeria), Nada Azhari (Syria), Nadim Jarjoura (Lebanon), Nageh Hassan (Jordan), Narjes Torchani (Tunisia), Nidal Queshha (Syria), Ola Kamel Al-Sheikh (Palestine, UAE, Head of Jury), Ola Shafey (Egypt), Ossama Abdel Fattah (Egypt), Rachid Naim (Morocco), Rahma El Haddad (Egypt), Rasha Hosny (Egypt), Safaa Elaisy (Egypt), Safaa Jibara Al-saleh (Iraq, UK), Taher Alwan (Iraq), Tarek Ben Chaabane (Tunisia), Tarek El Shinnawi (Egypt), Yousra Chikhawi (Tunisia), Ziad Khuzai (Iraq).

The Arab Critics' Awards for European Films was launched in 2019 by EFP and ACC. It is a spin-off from the ACC's now well-established Critics' Awards to boost film diversity in the region and raise the interest of sales and industry for outstanding European films. This initiative also aims to cast light on the distinguished film critics from 14 Arab-speaking countries and their important role in opening up new perspectives and bridging cultural idiosyncrasies. In 2019, the film God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya by Teona Strugar Mitevska won the first Arab Critics' Award for European Films.