Grant Recipients of
AFLAMUNA Impact Fund
2023 / Round 2
We are thrilled to announce the selection of eight projects for the second round of the Aflamuna Impact Fund’s 2023.
The AFLAMUNA Impact Fund supports powerful Arab film Impact Campaigns that tackle the urgent social, political, and environmental issues plaguing our region.
These projects, originating from Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Syria, and Egypt, were chosen by jury members, Meriame Deghedi, Faten Farhat, and Cyril Bassil.
The Jury
Meriame Deghedi / Egypt
An arts and culture marketing professional, Meriame Deghedi has a penchant for disseminating the diversity of the cinematic art works and films d’auteur to the general public through different means; production, distribution, and education in the visual image actions.
Fatin Farhat / Palestine
An experienced arts manager, curator and policy maker, the founding director of the Palestine Observatory for Cultural Policy.
Cyril Bassil / Lebanon
He began his career as a writer and actor performing in plays between Beirut and Paris. Early on, his work aimed at creating conversations around trauma, resilience, and finding hope.
In 2020, he established CB Pictures, his production company.
The Films
The selected projects address critical issues and aim to drive change in their communities. The AFLAMUNA Impact Fund believes that these projects have the potential to make a significant difference and create a lasting impact.
Aida Returns
This is Aida’s story, the director’s mother who struggles with Alzheimer’s and memory loss. She is comforted by the frequent “Qreturn” to her youth in Jaffa and her journey back there eventually. A tribute to the past forcibly taken from her and an attempt to restore the individual and collective memory of Palestinians, who are prevented from returning to their homeland even after their death.
The Color of Phosphate
The city is covered in dust. People floating in a gray existence determined by the rhythms of the phosphate mine. In such a place, beauty is an act of resistance. A mine worker fights marginalization and degradation with theater.
Son of the Streets
From the heart of the Shatila Refugee Camp in Lebanon, old family secrets are revealed in the process of issuing an ID for a stateless Palestinian child.
Un (Curb)ed
The film follows a performance group of children and young individuals from The Liberty Shelter in Alexandria. These performers, aged 5 to 21 years old, are guided by “Omda,” a dedicated social worker who deeply cares for their well-being and growth.
Life is Beautiful
Stunned to be displaced, Mohamed is forced to confront what it means to be stateless – a label he resists. “Life is Beautiful” is an insider’s take on how to persevere and ultimately succeed in the struggle for self-determination.
Crocodopolis
A passionate environmental researcher returns to his home at Egypt’s Lake Nasser to undertake a pioneering mission in crocodile conservation, eager to save the oldest surviving creatures from extinction.
Homemade stories
Nidal leaves his home in Damascus and travels to Cairo, where he embarks on a journey with cultural activists, reclaiming and renovating an old Cinema. The film gives insight into the social and artistic ruptures that occurred during the revolution, exposing the country’s transition from hope to despair.
Do You Love Me
Lana Daher’s personal journey through the fractured historical, social, cultural, and political landscapes of Beirut. Using mainly archive footage, the film weaves together the past and the present in a quest to better understand Lebanon’s history and current status today.
