Reel Palestine is back for the ninth time. This year 18 films, including features and shorts, will be screened at the film festival from January 27 to February 5 at Cinema Akil in Dubai. 

Celebrating cinematic masterpieces from award-winning and up-and-coming Palestinian filmmakers, the festival will showcase the best Palestinian art and films alongside a cultural souk and workshops.

Cinema lovers across the region will get an opportunity to watch three masterpieces – Wedding In Galilee, Tale Of The Three Jewels, and Fertile Memory – by the award-winning director, Michel Khliefi.

Starting on January 27, the festival will open with Maha Haj’s Mediterranean Fever and screen Palestinian features and shorts, including Wisam Al-Jafari’s By the Sea, Jumana Manna’s Foragers, Farah Abou Kharroub’s Seven Villages, Firas Khoury’s Alam, and Nicola Zambelli’s documentary Sarura. Select films will be screened in the presence of their directors and protagonists, allowing the audience to meet with the creators.

Reel Palestine has gained a reputation for enhancing the exposure of critically acclaimed movies like Ameen Nayfeh’s 200 Metres, which earned the BNL People’s Choice Award at the Venice Film Festival. 

“We are honored to once again bring Palestinian stories to the region of UAE and give our audiences a deep dive into its untold tales in an artistic form of cinema. The love that the UAE has for films is only magnified by the labor of love that drives our community-driven festival to share stories through a cinematic lens,” Cinema Akil stated.

“We are proud to dedicate our platform to narrating Palestine’s unspoken stories through cinema and do our bit in giving international exposure to regional films, here in the multicultural land of the UAE. Just like every year, the stories depicted in this edition of Reel Palestine will be sure to touch hearts and reinforce the unity of Dubai’s diverse cultural heritage that traverses geographic and cultural boundaries.”