Arab Cinema Centre (ACC) will have a presence in Cannes Film Festival (13-24 May, 2015). Launched early this year, ACC made its first international outing at the Berlinale in February. Organised by Cairo-based MAD Solutions, the ACC will represent 17 film companies and organisations at Cannes. MAD Solutions’ CEO Alaa Karkouti described the ACC as […]
Arab Cinema Centre (ACC) will have a presence in Cannes Film Festival (13-24 May, 2015). Launched early this year, ACC made its first international outing at the Berlinale in February. Organised by Cairo-based MAD Solutions, the ACC will represent 17 film companies and organisations at Cannes.
MAD Solutions’ CEO Alaa Karkouti described the ACC as the first-of-its-kind Arab congregation to be present at international film festivals.
“Launching at the Berlin International Film Festival was a successful foundational step on all fronts, a matter which encouraged us to be launching the second edition at Cannes Film Festival which has the world’s largest film market. We are planning to be present at other festivals to provide diverse and broad opportunities to the Arab cinema all over the world. ACC will be setting an annual agenda at international festivals, and its top priority will be being present at the Berlin International Film Festival as fixed start for our cinematic season and then we will be moving forward with our spread,” Karkouti added.
ACC includes the likes of Film Clinic (Egypt), The Imaginarium Films (Jordan), The Producers (Egypt, the UAE), Crystal Dog (Egypt), The International Oriental Film Festival of Geneva (Switzerland), The Friends (Egypt), Seat 26 (Lebanon), True Motion (Egypt), Robert Bosch Stiftung Foundation (Germany), Cinema Akil (UAE), Silk Road Film Festival (Ireland), Luxor’s African Film Festival’s Etisal Fund (Egypt), Ministry of Interior’s Cinema Awards (the UAE), Salam PROD (Egypt), Iraqi Independent Film Centre (Iraq), Free TV (Egypt) and MAD Solutions (Egypt, the UAE).
Maher Diab, Co-founder and Art Director at MAD Solutions, expressed his excitement about the ACC in a statement saying: “We were fortunate to have a great start at Berlinale, and, with our partners, we’re confident that great starts could result with great success stories for future ACC installations to come. Our initiative is not only a must for the Arab film industry; it’s a must for the global film industry. A huge potential is being unveiled to the world of cinema.”
Colin Brown, Managing Partner and Director of International Operations of MAD Solutions, also commented, “Issues of identity are as complex as they have ever been in the Arab world, there is no one-size-fits-all Arab cinema, but rather an individualistic array of stories, idioms and personalities that draw as much from the world at large as they do from national cinema traditions. The shape-shifting, globalized nature of Arab filmmaking today is why our Arab Cinema Centre makes so much sense: we serve as a focal point amid all the Cannes festival and market madness for reaching out to those at the fluid forefront of a New Arab Wave. The fact that Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the UAE and Iraq can come under the same umbrella as Switzerland, Ireland and German speaks volumes about the international cross-fertilisation that is now occurring. What unites them is an impassioned interest in building a sustainable, worldwide audience for Arab-centric films, in whatever forms those stories might take.”
Abdallah Al Shami, Managing Partner of MAD’s GCC Bureau added: “When we were approached by Cannes Film Festival to replicate our Berlinale experience there, we realised that the ACC is beyond a physical space where Arab filmmakers and ACC partners congregate with film industry professionals from around the world. The ACC is a responsibility towards a global community that is keen in maintaining a cultural dialogue with the Arab world. It’s a duty we don’t take lightly.”
