EFP, ACC to launch Arab Critics’ Award for European Films dedicated to European cinema

WE HOPE IT WILL HELP US CULTIVATE A TRUE AND SUSTAINABLE INTEREST IN EUROPEAN CINEMA IN THE REGION

European Film Promotion (EFP) announced it will partner with the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) to launch an Arab Critics’ Award for European Films dedicated to European cinema.

A jury of 30 of the most prominent and influential Arab film critics, put together by ACC, will select the best European film out of nominations by the European national film institutions - EFP’s member organisations. The award will be announced during the Cairo International Film Festival on November 2019.

“We are delighted to take our cooperation with the ACC - which started with annual meetings between Arabian producers and EFP’s Producers on the Move in Cannes - a step further.The award helps us to promote and intensify the buzz for European films in the Arab world,”

EFP’s Managing Director Sonja Heinen said on the new initiative,“We hope it will help us cultivate a true and sustainable interest in European cinema in the region.We would also like to thank the Cairo International Film Festival for giving us the platform to present the award and inviting the winner as part of their European programme,” she added.

Maher Diab and Alaa Karkouti, co-founders of the Arab Cinema Center (ACC) said that since its inception, the Arab Cinema Center strives to exchange knowledge and cultures and promote films between different countries inside and outside the Arab world.

“We also aim to raise the appreciation of film criticism in the Arab world and highlight its role. In order to do so, we launched the Critics’ Award for Arab Films, and then the Achievement Award for Film Critics, which honours Arab and foreign film critics who influence the Arab film industry, and now as a new step toward this goal, we have created the Arab Critics’ Award for European Films in partnership with European Film Promotion,” they added according to a press release.

EFP is an international network of film promotion institutes from 37 countries from throughout Europe, each representing their national films and talent abroad. Under the EFP flag, these organisations come together to promote the diversity and spirit of European cinema and talent at key film festivals and markets, in particular,outside of Europe.EFP is financially supported by Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union and by its member organisations.

The Hamburg-based office is backed by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Film Fund Hamburg SchleswigHolstein and the Ministry of Culture of the City of Hamburg.