The Cannes Film Festival has revealed its official selection for the 76th edition of the festival, taking place from 16th-27th May 2023, with a diverse range of MENA films featuring on the line-up. A total of nine filmmakers from the Middle East and North Africa will showcase their work at the event, including five films backed by the Red Sea Film fund in Saudi Arabia.
Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania's "Four Daughters" will be among the Saudi-backed films to feature, telling the story of a mother struggling to prevent her two radicalized daughters from joining Daesh. Senegalese filmmaker Ramata Toulayesy will also present her debut feature "Banel & Adama", which explores female emancipation in a remote village in Northern Senegal.
Moroccan director Asmae El-Moudir's "The Mother of All Lies" is a documentary exploring the bread riots in Casablanca in 1981, while Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani's "Goodbye Julia" tells the tale of a former singer seeking redemption after causing the death of a southern Sudanese man.
The MENA lineup also includes the historical drama "Firebrand" by Algerian-Brazilian filmmaker Karim Ainouz, which will compete in the festival's official competition category. Elias Belkeddar's "Omar La Fraise" will feature in the Midnight Screenings at Cannes, while Moroccan director Kamal Lazraq's debut feature "Les Meutes" will star Ayoub Elaid and Abdellatif Masstouri in the Un Certain Regard category.
Iranian filmmakers Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami will also show their film "Terrestrial Verses" in the Un Certain Regard category.
The Red Sea Film fund has provided crucial support to several of these filmmakers, marking the continued expansion of the Saudi film industry and its increasing influence within the global cinema landscape. This year's festival is shaping up to be an exciting showcase for MENA cinema, with a diverse range of voices and stories set to captivate audiences in Cannes.
