Festival

The focus is on films by Arab filmmakers that could not find their way to “commercial” cinema. The program includes short and full-length feature, documentary, animation and experimental films exploring social, cultural and political issues. Discussions with the invited filmmakers also offer the audience the opportunity to discuss films and topics further.

The Arab Film Festival Zurich is a place of encounters and dialogue between cultures. Through its internationally understandable language, film serves as a means of communication and understanding, and so the festival should make a contribution to a differentiated analysis of the Arab cultural area beyond media coverage.

The first edition of the festival in 2012 was well received by the audience and the media. Every two years, the Arab Film Festival Zurich presents a representative selection of outstanding current international films from various Arab countries.

The festival team consists of honorary board members of the association IAFFZ and the management team of the Filmpodium as well as volunteers who share a great interest in film and in the Arab culture. The program is compiled by Aida Schläpfer Al-Hassani (filmmaker, director and president of the association IAFFZ) and Corinne Siegrist-Oboussier and Michel Bodmer (director of the filmpodium).