Kawalis | Cinema, Television & Theater from the Arab World

We're joined by film critic and president of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), Ahmed Shawky, and delve into the role of film critics in the Arab world. We talk about Shawky's p…

In this episode of Kawalis, we welcome Farah Nabulsi, the acclaimed director and writer behind films like "The Teacher" and the BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated "The Present." Nabulsi shares her pow…

In this last episode in 3 Kawalis podcast special zooming in on cinema in the Gulf, Alia Younis hosts associate professor of Culture and Politics at Georgetown Qatar, Firat Oruc, to explore the histo…

What is the Gulf-Kerala connection? This episode of Kawalis is a deep dive into migration, media, and cultural exchange. Filmmaker Alia Yunis hosts associate professor at Azim Premji University, Bind…

Discover cinema from the Gulf from its beginnings to the present day. Filmmaker Alia Yunis draws on her rich knowledge of the Arab Gulf’s cinema to give us a full picture of the scene's early days, i…

Ely Dagher is a Lebanese director, screenwriter and artist known for his Palme D'Or awarded short film Waves '98 and his first feature film The Sea Ahead which had its premiere at the 2021 Cannes Fil…

Aflam Sudan's inaugural edition is being held in Nairobi between April 12th and 19th (2024). The co-founders of the festival, Rafa Renas and Brahim "Snoopy" Ahmad, join us on Kawalis to talk about th…

If you're looking for a film to watch, Carol shared her favorite Palestinian film recommendations with us 👉https://www.afikra.com/daftarjournal/carol-mansour-film-recommendations

Carol Mansour is an i…

A captivating conversation with theater director and playwright Laila Soliman about theater, cultural discourse and decolonization across the Arab world. Using three of her major works – Zigzag, La G…

Goodbye Julia — which played in Cannes’ section Un Certain Regard and won the Freedom Prize — is a poignant reflection on Sudanese society. The film is Kordofani's first feature. He sat down with us …

Farha – the internationally acclaimed film that brought the Nakba to screens around the world – depicts the heartwrenching events of 1948 through the eyes of a 14-year old girl. In her debut film, di…

Michelle Keserwany joined us on Movie Night to talk about her and her sister Noel’s short film Les Chenilles. We dive into the 3.5 day filmmaking process, the inspiration behind it and the colonial i…

Award-winning director Philippe Aractingi joined us on set for this special episode of Movie Night. We talked about his journey into filmmaking, why he considers himself a ‘storyteller’, and why he s…

Maysoon Pachachi talks about her film "Our River... Our Sky," an Arabic language narrative feature film. The film is a web of intersecting stories that describes a collective drama happening in this …

From Shankaboot to Brando Al Sharek, we talk with innovative Emmy-winning filmmaker Amin Dora about cinema, advertising, working with George Khabbaz, Shankaboot, Beirut, and where we are today in TV …

Rami Yasin talked about his movie "Bloodline", “the first Arab vampire film.”

Rami Yasin is a filmmaker and the founder of Breakout Films in Dubai. He was introduced to the world of cinema by his fath…

Amr Salama talked about his movie "Asmaa" that tells the story of a woman who suffers from AIDS decides not to surrender to the fatal disease.

Amr Salama is an International Award Winning Film Directo…

Omar Naim spoke to us about his new film, "Route 10," which tells the story of two siblings who must make a journey through the desert in order to attend their father's wedding but underestimate the …

After graduating from the School of Cinematic Arts at The University of Southern California, Bassel wrote and produced the OSCAR nominated and BAFTA winning film “Theeb.” His directorial debut, “The …

Ahd spoke about her film, "Sanctity."

Ahd Kamel is an actress, filmmaker from Saudi Arabia. She is most well known for her starring role in “Wadjda” (2012) which is Saudi Arabia’s first feature film. …