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Egypt Today
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Today
ACC Reveals Nominees for 9th Critics Awards for Arab Films to be held at 78th Cannes Film Festival
The Critics Awards. Continuing its tradition of celebrating excellence in Arab cinema, the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) has announced the nominees for the ninth edition of its annual Critics Awards for Arab Films. Leading the pack with five nominations each this year are four films: THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US; EVERYBODY LOVES TOUDA; GHOST TRAIL and SEEKING HAVEN FOR MR. RAMBO. Following close behind them, with four nominations, is: AÏCHA. Several other films also had multiple nominations including: THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE; TO A LAND UNKNOWN; VOY! VOY! VOY! and NORAH. This year's winners will be revealed during a ceremony held on May 17th as part of the Cannes Film Festival. The event is organized in collaboration with MAD Solutions and the International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA), and attendance is by invitation only. The Critics Awards for Arab Films have become a prestigious and anticipated highlight of the festival calendar. The 2025 edition marks another milestone in the award's legacy, with a record-breaking 281 jury members from 75 countries voting on the standout Arab films of the past year. Nominees were selected from films that premiered outside the Arab world in the 2024 calendar year. This year's nominations span across a range of categories, including Best Feature Film, Best Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Music, showcasing the depth and diversity of the storytelling craft and from across the Arab region. Here's the final list of nominees: Best Feature Film ● THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US! | Laila Abbas | Palestine ● EVERYBODY LOVES TOUDA | Nabil Ayouch | Morocco ● SEEKING HAVEN FOR MR. RAMBO | Khaled Mansour | Egypt ● AÏCHA | Mehdi Barsaoui | Tunisia ● GHOST TRAIL | Jonathan Millet | France Best Director ● Laila Abbas | THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US! ● Nabil Ayouch | EVERYBODY LOVES TOUDA ● Khaled Mansour | SEEKING HAVEN FOR MR. RAMBO ● Jonathan Millet | GHOST TRAIL ● Mahdi Fleifel | TO A LAND UNKNOWN Best Screenplay ● Laila Abbas | THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US! ● Nabil Ayouch & Maryam Touzani | EVERYBODY LOVES TOUDA ● Mehdi Barsaoui | AÏCHA ● Jonathan Millet & Florence Rochat | GHOST TRAIL ● Mo Harawe | THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE Best Actor ● Essam Omar | SEEKING HAVEN FOR MR. RAMBO ● Adam Bessa | GHOST TRAIL ● Yagoub Alfarhan | NORAH ● Muhammad Farrag | VOY! VOY! VOY! ● Majd Mastoura | AGORA Best Actress ● Yasmine Al Massri | THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US! ● Nisrin Erradi | EVERYBODY LOVES TOUDA ● Hala Rajab | GHOST TRAIL ● Diamand Abou Abboud | ARZÉ ● Rakeen Saad | SEEKING HAVEN FOR MR. RAMBO Best Cinematography ● Antoine Héberlé | AÏCHA ● Mostafa El Kashef | THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE ● Thodoros Mihopoulos | TO A LAND UNKNOWN ● Jonathan Sela | THE STRANGERS' CASE ● Wojciech Staron | RED PATH Best Editing ● Heba Othman | THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US! ● Yasser Azmy | SEEKING HAVEN FOR MR. RAMBO ● Joana Scrinzi | THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE ● Ahmed Hafez | VOY! VOY! VOY! ● Noaz Deshe & Felipe Guerrero | XOFTEX Best Music ● Kristian Eidnes Andersen & Flemming Nordkrog | EVERYBODY LOVES TOUDA ● Amin Bouhafa | AÏCHA ● Omar Fadel | NORAH ● Florencia Di Concilio | THE VANISHING ● Rodrigo D'Erasmo | SAMIA Best Documentary ● NO OTHER LAND ● DIARIES FROM LEBANON ● A FIDAH FILM ● SUDAN, REMEMBER US ● FROM GROUND ZERO Best Short Film ● AFTER THE SUN ● UPSHOT ● MANGO ● SHADOWS ● A SHORT FILM ABOUT KIDS
Egypt Today
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Today
Egyptian DOP Mostafa El Kashef wins Best Cinematography at Festival of Austrian Film
Egyptian DOP Mostafa El Kashef wins Best Cinematography at Festival of Austrian Film for his film THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE Marking his second award for the film and further showcasing his exceptional talent, DOP Mostafa El Kashef has won the Best Cinematography Award for his work on the Somali film THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE by Mo Harawe, at the Diagonale - Festival of Austrian Film, held in Graz from March 27th to April 1st. In addition to this award, THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE won Best Fiction Feature at the festival, with the jury praising it for its 'fine sense of nuance, developing its gentle impact in the process.' It also received €15,000 from the Culture Department of the Federal State of Styria, €1,000 donated by streaming platform watchAUT, a €3,000 coupon for ads on watchAUT, and a €4,000 donation as a voucher by The Grand Post – Post Production House. THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE previously won El Kashef the Best Cinematography Award at the Tunisian Carthage Film Festival and has garnered six other awards from various festivals, including Chicago, Sarajevo, Munich, Cork, and Marrakech, along with the Best Austrian Film Award at the Viennale. Set in a windy Somali desert village, THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE revolves around a newly assembled family that must navigate between their different aspirations and the complex world surrounding them. Love, trust, and resilience will power them through their life paths - even amidst the throes of civil war and natural disasters. This film marks El Kashef's second feature-length film, which is the first ever film to be shot in Somalia to screen at Cannes and the recipient of a post-production prize from the Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech Film Festival and a Locarno Industry award, enjoyed widespread popularity and a packed world premiere at the festival's Un Certain Regard, with the general audience hailing the film and giving it a standing ovation. The film also took the internet by storm, receiving widespread praise from prominent critics worldwide, who lauded its exceptional cinematography in their reviews. This included Lovia Gyarke of The Hollywood Reporter, who described El Kashef's cinematography as "offering truly striking images," and Nikki Baughan of Screendaily, who highlighted the film's "striking visual literacy." Written and directed by Harawe as his feature-length directorial debut, the film is a poignant take on Somali life that features a cast of emerging Somali actors, including Ahmed Ali Farah, Ahmed Mohamud Saleban, and Anab Ahmed Ibrahim.
