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beirut cinema days

As one of the very first events in the region to focus solely on Arab cinema, this festival has played a crucial role in establishing a regional film community and fostering dialogue and collaboration among filmmakers in the Arab region. Held biennially, the festival has showcased over 500 feature and short films from both the Arab region and abroad. With an annual attendance of more than 8,000 viewers, it has successfully created a vibrant platform for cinematic exchange and cultural engagement.

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the festival

A festival that introduced Arab cinema to the Lebanese audience.
Twenty years ago, Ayam Beirut Al Cinema’iya (Beirut Cinema Days) was started by a group of Lebanese filmmakers who sought to create the platform for Lebanese and Arab Cinema they thought the city was missing.
The festival was the first in the region to focus exclusively on Arab cinema and created a unique place of dialogue for Arab filmmakers. The biennial event has since brought together over 500 features and shorts films from the region and beyond with its annual audience of more than 8,000 viewers.
A festival that recognizes the driving forces of Arab cinema.
Throughout the years, Ayam Beirut has paid tribute to many acclaimed filmmakers such as Jean-Luc Godard, Abderrahmane Sissako, Yousry Nasrallah, Michel Khleifi, Hany Abou Assaad, Abdellatif Kechiche, Ghassan Salhab, Omar Amiralay, Oussama Mohamed and Farouk Beloufa.
But more importantly, it has embraced emerging talents from Lebanon and the Arab World, including Lebanese filmmakers Simon El Habre, Dima El Horr and Michel Kammoun, whose careers the festival kickstarted.
It has also hosted many revered film figures, both local and international, such as French icon Catherine Deneuve, Egyptian star Leila Aloui and French actress Elodie Bouchez.
Never shying away from the political and social potency of cinema as a medium, the festival has held numerous talks, with the likes of Samir Kassir and Fawaz Traboulsi and special film programs, tackling urgent socio-political questions.
A festival that tackles the needs of its industry.
The festival has held several workshops over the years, it has hosted masterclasses by established filmmakers, and panels shedding light on emerging voices. It has sought to shed light on the struggle of Arab filmmakers, to provide them with a space for dialogue and critical thought, and to create support structures to address their needs, leading up to the creation of the Beirut Cinema Platform.
A festival in constant transformation.
Ayam Beirut aims to reflect the current state of Arab cinema and of Arab society, constantly looking to address its local audience’s needs, be it through its programming, but also through the nature of the event itself.
In 2019, the festival extended beyond the city to reach audiences in Saida and Hammana, and beyond the theatre, to reach audiences in classrooms and prisons.
And each edition will strive to explore the constantly expanding boundaries of cinema, to step up to the needs of its audience, and to address the defining issues of its time.
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“Ayam Beirut holds a place in my heart like no other festival. A relationship spanning 20 years, I have screened every film I’ve ever made there and it has been an essential part of my life as a filmmaker”

- Anne Marie Jacir, Filmmaker

AFLAMUNA (formerly Beirut DC) works to harness the power of independent Arab cinema to elevate the most pressing social, political, and cultural movements of our time.

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