30-04-2025
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
