Ten films to watch at Cinema Akil's Arab Film Week in Dubai

The National

02-05-2025

Arab Film Week returns to Cinema Akil for the fourth year from May 2 to 11. This year, the programme celebrates people pursuing their dreams – whether for freedom, home, family, or self-discovery. The curated films explore themes of family, war, personal journeys and women's experiences. Here are the 10 films screening at Arab Film Week 2025. Showing: May 2 at 7pm, May 7 at 9.30pm Emirati filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja directs Three, a horror film about a demonic possession and the western man who has to step in to stop the evil. The film's stars include Jefferson Hall, who also appeared in House of the Dragon and Oppenheimer, and Saud Alzarooni. Showing: May 7 at 7pm, May 10 at 10pm Jordanian filmmaker Rand Beiruty directs this documentary about a group of Arab, Kurdish and Roma teenage girls who come of age in a German provincial town. Confronting hidden discrimination and family expectations, they express their struggles and boldest dreams on camera. The director followed the girls for four years, filming them as their relationships and friendships grew. Beiruty also traces their linguistic and cognitive growth as each girl strives to find purpose and belonging in her new community. Showing: May 4 at 4.30pm, May 6 at 7pm, May 9 at 10.15pm Shajane, Maha, Muzamil and Khattab are Sudanese young people who engage with politics and express themselves creatively. Filmmaker Hind Meddeb follows them in this documentary as they exemplify their generation's fight for freedom using their art. Facing a corrupt army responsible for war crimes in Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile, they are sustained by a dream – fuelled by imagination and the power of poetic expression – that enabled them to topple the former regime. Showing: May 2 at 9.15pm, May 8 at 7pm Anas Zawahri's film is a moving look at life in Homs, Syria, caught between the past, present and future. It shows a city and its people trying to return to normal after deep loss and destruction. The film is a powerful reminder of the pain of war and the strength people find to keep going. Showing: May 4 at 9.30pm, May 5 at 9.30pm, May 10 at 4.30pm Bassam Mortada was just five when he first visited his father, Mahmoud, in the infamous Abo Zaabal prison in Egypt. Shaken by the police raid in which his father was captured, he became filled with resentment towards the authorities. In this documentary, Mortada captures his journey to reconnect with his parents and uncover a path towards historical truth, emotional understanding and healing, as he pieces together how their political activism impacted their family. Showing: May 3 at 4.30pm, May 6 at 8.45pm, May 11 at 7pm In Mehdi Barsaoui's Aicha, Aya, a woman in her late twenties living with her parents in southern Tunisia, feels stuck in a life with no future. After surviving a car accident that kills everyone else on board, she sees an opportunity to start over. Escaping to the capital city under a new identity, her fresh start is quickly threatened when she becomes the key witness to a police mistake. Showing: May 5 at 7pm, May 10 at 7pm At 40, Saify Muhammed is a failed scammer who owes money to a lot of people, even to his ex-wife. It's the year 2000, and he owns a rundown music shop that sells cassette tapes, including banned Islamic sermons he wrongly believes will make him rich. Wael Abu Mansour directs this Saudi comedy about blackmail and the business of religion. Showing: May 3 at 9.30pm, May 11 at 4.30pm Kurdwin Ayub directs Mond, a film about a former martial artist who accepts what seems like a dream job – training three wealthy sisters in Jordan – but things quickly turn sour because the young women are constantly watched and have no real interest in learning the sport. Showing: May 3 at 7pm, May 8 at 9.15pm, May 11 at 10pm Lebanese comedy-drama Arze, directed by Mira Shaib, is about a single mother who is determined to buy her son a scooter so he can help her deliver the pies she bakes. To make it happen, she steals and pawns her sister's bracelet for a down payment. But when the scooter gets stolen, the mother takes charge, pulling her unwilling son across Beirut to track it down. Showing: May 4 at 6.45pm, May 9 at 7pm Mo Harawe's The Village Next to Paradise follows a newly blended family as they navigate the ups and downs of modern life, balancing personal dreams with everyday struggles. US drones constantly fly above them in their rural Somali village as they struggle to survive amid poverty. Shot entirely in Somalia, the film boasts a cast of first-time actors.