AFLAMUNA France is an independent cultural nonprofit organization based in Paris founded in 2021, sharing the same mission and vision as AFLAMUNA.
We strive to empower filmmakers and audiences from every corner of the Arab region. We create resources, events, and virtual and physical spaces that bring filmmakers, communities, and civil society closer, paving the way for radical and transformative collaboration.
We believe in the power of film as a driver for change and a harbor for visions of a more just and equal world, in access to independent cinema, arts, and culture as a right to all communities across class and culture, and in the right of Arab artists to choose their own narratives.
We strive to empower filmmakers and audiences from every corner of the Arab region. We create resources, events, and virtual and physical spaces that bring filmmakers, communities, and civil society closer, paving the way for radical and transformative collaboration.
We believe in the power of film as a driver for change and a harbor for visions of a more just and equal world, in access to independent cinema, arts, and culture as a right to all communities across class and culture, and in the right of Arab artists to choose their own narratives.
From training and co-production platforms to innovative large-scale field-building initiatives, we work with allies to champion the independence, security, and space for expression of independent storytellers from the Arab region.
Through continual and bold experimentation, we explore new pathways to underserved audiences in the Arab region and beyond, aiming to overcome the financial, cultural, and geographical barriers that separate Arab filmmakers from Arab audiences.
We are catalyzing a movement of Impact Production in the region, enabling alliances between independent Arab filmmakers and Arab civil society that are beneficial for both and have the potential to affect the most important issues of our time.
AFLAMUNA board of directors
A “Université Saint Joseph” graduate in Beirut, specializes in community development. Through his work as a consultant, he supports municipalities and non-profit organizations in designing their development and strategic plans and enhancing their teams’ administrative capabilities.
In addition to his work with various ministries and universities in Lebanon and abroad, he is involved in capacity development and community organization.
A cultural management professional focusing on the arts and cultural sectors in the Arab Region. She has held roles as an art programmer, consultant, and executive director.
Co-founding the “Beirut Contemporary”, she planned exhibitions showcasing visual artists from the Arab region. Racha’s strategic expertise has contributed to the success of cultural organizations and festivals. As Executive Director of an art foundation in Beirut, she managed exhibition spaces, curated programs and cultural events. Racha is currently the head of programming at the “Black Gold Museum”.
Director and co-founder of “Ara Research & Consultancy” specializing in market studies and consultation. During the last 12 years, he has participated in the implementation of a large number of studies, of which he has moderated a large number of groups in various fields. Tarek has played a major role in the success of certain television programs and in the expansion of the readership of Arab newspapers. Tarek holds an MBA in business administration, from the “American University of Beirut”, in 1992.
Azza is a professor at the Lebanese University, Faculty of Law, and holds a PhD in Private Law from Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University. She has served as a visiting professor and researcher at several institutions, including UGA in France, Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, Université de Montréal, and UQAM. She is an international member of CEDREF for feminist studies and a member of the BAHITHAT Association, with research interests in law and social sciences.
Lebanese director born in 1976, he discovered his passion for cinema early and studied filmmaking at Saint Joseph University in Beirut. After years working across feature films, advertising, television, and documentaries, he moved into directing music videos, commercials, and major TV shows across the Arab world. He has collaborated with leading broadcasters and platforms including MBC, Netflix, Shahid, and Asharq Discovery, while also teaching filmmaking for many years at USJ.
AFLAMUNA FRANCE board of directors
Natalie is an “Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées” graduate engineer. She completed internships at “Commerzbank AG” in London and the “Institut de Mécanique Céleste” at the Paris Observatory before earning a Master’s in Mathematics and Applications from the “University of Paris-Est”.
She is deputy head of a supervision unit at “Banque de France”. Having grown up between France and Lebanon, Natalie embodies a rich blend of cultural experiences.
A 2010 graduate from “IESAV” – USJ’s audiovisual department, Assi has actively managed cultural and cinema events since 2008, including film festivals, screenings, and online platforms. She was BCP manager from 2015 to 2021 and Artistic Director for “Beirut Cinema Days” in 2022. The training programs she organized in Lebanon, with Arab and European collaboration, featured industry experts, significantly contributing to acclaimed Arab independent films. Additionally, Riham holds a bachelor’s in psychology and is pursuing a master’s in Clinical Psychology.
With 20 years of experience in public and corporate communications in France, Joelle ElKhoury-Serrano has developed 360° expertise, from strategies to operational implementation. She has mainly worked on local authorities’ territorial and cultural promotion campaigns, partnership strategies and advocacy for non-profit associations, event management for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and awareness campaigns for the public health sector. She is now involved in supporting the development of cultural and cinematographic projects with a social impact.
