The Arab Film Club is a community-led organisation exploring and showcasing exceptional cinema from the Arab world. We host popular screenings in cinemas, host online film discussions and have a podcast about Arab cinema.
Our Story
The Arab Film Club grew out of an Arab play reading club founded by Sarah Agha during lockdown in July 2020. Over the course of a year we read theatre texts by a variety of Arab writers – everything from adaptations of the 8th Century Arabian Nights to innovative theatre from the Egyptian 1920s, Syrian 1950s to the Palestinian revolutionary Ghassan Kanafani and contemporary plays published by the diaspora.
It was an empowering space for us to come together and explore texts from our region, especially whilst theatres across the country were shuttered due to lockdown. After a few sessions, and the realisation that the Arab world has so much to offer in terms of art and culture, we decided to expand into cinema. Once theatres and venues reopened we paused the play readings… but the film club lived on!
How does it work?
Each month we pick a different title written and directed by an Arab filmmaker. The sessions are either held online (we watch the chosen film in our own time and then meet virtually to share our responses) or held in person at a screening we host ourselves. We also organise group trips to attend events organised by other Arab film festivals which is usually followed by a social to discuss and network. So far we have watched and discussed films from Algeria, Egypt, the occupied Golan Heights, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. We’re always looking for new or classic titles to explore.
Can I join?
Yes! All sessions are inclusive. You don’t need to identify as Arab to join in or to be working in the film industry. All professions, creeds and ethnicities welcome – just bring an interest or appreciation for Arab cinema. Ahlan wa sahlan! (Welcome!) DM us on Instagram for more info or join us at an event and ask to be added to the WhatsApp group.
Gallery
Press
Feature Films
200 Metres – Ameen Nayfeh (Palestine, 2020)
A Gaza Weekend – Basil Khalil (Palestine, 2022)
Alam – Firas Khoury (Palestine, 2022)
Alexandria… Why? – Youssef Chahine (Egypt, 1978)
Animalia – Sofia Alaouii (Morocco, 2023)
Bab’Aziz – Nacer Khemir (Tunisia, 2005)
Beauty and The Dogs – Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia, 2017)
Boy From Heaven – Tarik Saleh (Egypt, 2022)
Cairo 678 – Mohamed Diab (Egypt, 2010)
The Burdened – Amr Gamal (Yemen, 2023)
Captain Abu Raed – Amin Matalqa (Jordan, 2007)
Costa, Brava Lebanon – Mounia Akl (Lebanon, 2021)
Damascus with Love – Mohamad Abdulaziz (Syria, 2010)
Divine Intervention – Elia Suleiman (Palestine, 2002)
Farha – Darin J. Sallam (Jordan, 2021)
Headbang Lullaby – Hisham Lasri (Morocco, 2017)
I’ll Go To Hell – Ismahane Lahmar (Tunisia, 2021)
Layla’s Birthday – Rashid Mashawari (Palestine, 2008)
Leila and The Wolves – Heiny Srour (Lebanon, 1982)
Memory Box – Joana Hadjithomas / Khalil Joreige (Lebanon, 2021)
Nezouh – Soudade Kaadan (Syria, 2022)
Papicha – Mounia Meddour (Algeria, 2019)
Rock The Casbah – Laïla Marrakchi (Morocco, 2013)
Son of Babylon – Mohamed Al-Daradji (Iraq, 2009)
The Alleys – Bassel Ghandour (Jordan, 2021)
The Dupes – Tewfik Saleh- (Palestinian story, Egyptian director, 1972)
The Man Who Sold His Skin – Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisian director, 2020)
The Voice of Hind Rajab – Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia, 2025)
Salma’s Home – Hanadi Elyan (Jordan, 2022)
The Silences of The Palace – Moufida Tlatli (Tunisia, 1994)
The Stranger – Ameer Fakher Eldin (Golan Heights, 2021)
The Teacher – Farah Nabulsi (Palestine, 2024)
The Time That Remains – Elia Suleiman (Palestine, 2009)
Wadjda – Haifaa al-Mansour (Saudi Arabia, 2012)
Wajib – Annemarie Jacir (Palestine, 2017)
Where Do We Go Now – Nadine Labaki (Lebanon, 2011)
You Will Die At Twenty – Amjad Abu Alala (Sudan, 2019)
Short Films
We regularly host sold-out short film screenings at various venues including the Close Up Cinema, Genesis Cinema, The Garden Cinema, The Southbank Centre and The Cockpit Theatre in London plus the Glasgow Film Theatre in Scotland, The Irish Film Institute in Dublin and the Plaza Cinema at the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival.
Arab Shorts at The Close-Up Cinema, July 2022
Our first ever screening back in 2022
– Yuluu by our own member Libyan filmmaker Fatima Kried – 3’
– The Crossing by Ameen Nayfeh (Palestine) – 10′
– Abdullah and Leilah by Ashtar Al Khirsan (UK) – 19’
– Sous Les Soutanes by Michel Zarazir (Lebanon) – 20’
– CAI – BER by Ahmed Abdelsalam / Ahmed Hosny (Egypt) – 17’
– Al-Sit by Suzannah Mirghani (Sudan) – 20’
– Maradona’s Legs by Firas Khoury (Palestine) – 23’
This event was funded by The Grand Plan scheme.
Refugee Week at The Southbank Centre, June 2023, 2024 and 2025
For three years in a row, The Arab Film Club has been invited to collaborate with Counterpoint Arts to curate a screening of short films at London’s Southbank Centre. In 2023, we screened three titles by Arab filmmakers – Hassan Akkad (Matar), Soudade Kaadan (Aziza) and Laith Elzubaidi (Panic!) – and also screened two shorts from Afghanistan (Yellow by Elham Ehsas) and South Africa (Address Unknown by Anton Fisher). In 2024, we screened Al Sit (Sudan) by Suzannah Al Mirghani, Beneath A Mother’s Feet (Morocco) by Elias Suhail and An Orange From Jaffa (Palestine) by Mohammed Al Mughanni. The screenings were followed by a Q&A on stage with the filmmakers. 2025 we sold out with 4 shorts by filmmakers from Gaza, Lebanon and London.
What our members say...
“The Arab Film Club has been a life changing community for me. Through such an inclusive and engaging group I have made new friends and met industry professionals. I also explored films and my culture in new ways –
it is great to be part of something so rewarding.”
the forefront incredibly vital.”
Our Podcast
The Arab Film Club Podcast is back!
Series 2 launched on 4th February 2026 at 6pm. New episodes drop every two months. Series 2 kicked off with an interview with Oscar shortlisted and Emmy nominated director Cherien Dabis about her feature ‘All That’s Left Of You.’
Produced by Hemeroscope Studios.
All episodes of Series 1 on Palestinian Cinema and Cultural Resistance are online to listen to now. 5 interviews with 5 pioneering Palestinian directors about their multi award winning feature films.
Tune in now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Podbean : www.thearabfilmclub.podbean.com
Up Next!
The Arab Film Club returns to the Southbank Centre for an Afternoon of Short Films.
Sunday 28th June 2026 at 3pm in the Southbank’s Purcell Room.
We will be screening 4 award winning shorts followed by a discussion with the filmmakers on stage.
Book here now! – https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/arab-film-club-an-afternoon-of-shorts-and-qa/
Poster image from Waseem Khair’s ‘Gaza Bride 17’.
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