5th annual Arab Film Festival this Jun 20th-30th

TORONTO - EntSun -- Toronto Arab Film Festival (TAFF) returns for it's 5th annual festival, including films from Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Sudan, Saudi, Oman, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Jordan in addition to Canada, USA, Germany, Belgium, France and others.

This year the Festival will take place both virtually and in-person at Innis Town Hall, with a selection of 41 films including 15 features and 26 short films.
Among this year's highlights are films ranging from historical epics, like The Last Queen, inspired by the legendary Princess Zaphira's fight against the infamous pirate, Barbarossa, to dark comedies, like Mandoob, a thrilling portrayal of Saudi Arabia's gig economy and its dark consequences.

Also at the festival is Goodbye Julia, Mohamed Kordofani's impressive debut feature film, which is the first Sudanese film to screen at Cannes' Un Certain Regard, executive produced by Lupita Nyong'o. Race, religion and politics collide in the aftermath of the muder of a South Sudanese man and the unlikely friendship that forms between the witness of the murder and the deceased widow.

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This year we are also excited to feature films from non-Arab voices, such as, legendary British filmmaker Ken Loach's, The Old Oak. Set in a previously thriving mining town as a group of Syrian refugees arrive, the film astutely and humanely observes the lives of the two communities intensely intertwining.

Additionally, this year, in partnership with the Director's Guild of Canada, we are excited to expand on our Producer Accelerator, which will be held on June 23rd at Centre for Social Innovation and will feature a series of panels intended to accelerate emerging producers' and filmmakers' entry into the industry through knowledge transfer and to connect emerging and mid-career producers and directors. Speakers include Christina Piovesan, Shonna Foster, Shant Joshi and Coral Aiken among other notable industry professionals.

Four awards will be presented this year - the Juthour Jury Award for Most Promising Filmmaker, the Qayqub Award for Best Canadian Short Film, the Yamama Audience Choice Award for best short film and the Nakheel Jury Award for best Feature Film.

The Festival will kick off with an opening social on June 21 at Pamenar —  where filmmakers and artists will come together to meet and connect and will close on June 30 at the Royal Lounge as we celebrate another milestone in the Festival's young but significant history.

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Tickets and additional details can be found on www.arabfilm.ca.

The Festival this year is made possible by the generous support of; our funders, Telefilm Canada (https://telefilm.ca/en) and the Inspirit Foundation (https://inspiritfoundation.org/); our sponsor WBD Access Canada (https://www.warner-access.com/programs/wbd-acce...); our community partner, the Director's Guild of Canada (https://www.dgc.ca/en/ontario/); and venue partners, The Cinema Studies Institute (https://www.cinema.utoronto.ca/) and The Centre for Social Innovation (https://socialinnovation.org/).