Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hosted by Toronto Arab Film
Release: May 12, 2023 [For Immediate Release]

This year’s Toronto Arab Film Festival (TAFF) will take place in the city of Toronto and online across Canada, from June 1-11, 2023. TAFF is the first of its kind in Toronto, a non-profit festival focused on presenting and promoting films by Arab filmmakers across the world—for both Arab and non-Arab audiences alike. 

The fourth edition of the festival will host in-person screenings and activities at the Revue Cinema, Innis College, 1411_D and the Goethe Institute, with additional virtual screenings available through the Toronto Arab Film website. 

This year’s programme spotlights a broad range of both feature-length and short films. They include fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental works by filmmakers from the Arab world and its diasporas. Films include opening night Palestinian film Mediterranean Fever, winner of the best screenplay award in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, an outdoor family friendly screening of the enchantingly animated Dounia et la princesse d’alep and closing the festival this year is A Gaza Weekend, by oscar-nominated filmmaker Basil Kahlil.

This year we are boasting an increased number of Arab-Canadian films including two feature documentaries: Desert Rocker by Sara Nacer, a profound portrait of the extraordinary Hasna El Becharia, a pioneer Gnawa artist, and the comedic saga of The Lebanese Burger Mafia by Albertan Omar Mouallem, following a successful run at Hot Docs earlier this month.

The Festival is also hosting various professional development events including workshops on Story Editing with Abdul Malik and Digital Marketing Mastery with Carolina Oliveira, and a panel highlighting the Canadian opportunities available for emerging filmmakers and producers.  

TAF awards offer a financial reward to winning filmmakers, along with a one-of-a-kind trophy designed by a local artist, Habiba El Sayed. Awards include 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.

To explore the festival programme and purchase tickets, visit www.arabfilm.ca. Viewers are encouraged to take advantage of early bird discounts, available until May 26. All non-English films will have subtitles. 

About ​Toronto Arab Film
​Toronto Arab Film (TAF) is a non-profit organization bringing films from and about the Arab world to Toronto audiences. TAF began in 2017 with the goal of addressing a lack of films from the Arab world in Toronto film programming. It has since grown into a multifaceted organization that promotes the diversity of Arab cultures, builds community, creates opportunities for exchange, and develops emerging artists. TAF is ultimately rooted in a desire to reinstate a tradition that has been lost over time: coming together to share in the joy of film and culture.

We would like to thank the following funders for their generous support of our festival and it’s activities:

Thanks to our community partner:

For inquiries:
rolla@arabfilm.ca

The Toronto Arab Film Festival is looking for film lovers to join our team. As we plan for the 2023 Festival, we are looking for volunteers in the following areas: programming, communications, outreach and operations.

TAF is the first festival of its kind in Toronto, focused on presenting and promoting pan-Arab films by and about Arabs from all over the world. We are run by a dedicated team of volunteers, passionate about Arab cinema and supporting the next generation of filmmakers.

For the 2023 edition of our Festival, we are looking for individuals to fill the following positions:

* Programmers
* Communications Coordinator
* Outreach Coordinator
* Operations Coordinator

Interested in applying? Send your resume to: info@arabfilm.ca and let us know what areas you’re interested in.

Toronto Arab Film is seeking new members to join the Board of Directors in 2022 who are interested in helping to strengthen our fledgling organization and bring their expertise in organizational management, fundraising, sponsorships and partnerships to the table. As TAF grows we need a Board of Directors that is able to ensure the long-term sustainability of the organization.

We are looking specifically for people who would be able to help provide expertise and insight in the following areas:

• Finance and Accounting
• Fundraising and Development
• Sponsorship
• Operations

Board Term: 1 year 

Frequency of meetings: Every six to eight weeks. 
Monthly Commitment: Approximately, 10 hours
New Board Members will be ratified this October at our upcoming AGM in October. Date to be determined. 

It is not a requirement, but a passion for community arts and international film is considered an asset. 

• Interested applicants can reach out to the Board at board@arabfilm.ca with the Subject Heading of 2022 Board Members. 
• Please include a short bio, your area of expertise and the reason you’re interested in joining the TAF Board. Resumes or CVs are encouraged. 
• Potential candidates will be contacted by a hiring committee of current Board Members
• You can learn more about the organization at www.arabfilm.ca

Toronto, May 3, 2022
PRESS RELEASE 

The Toronto Arab Film Festival (TAF) is returning this year for the 3rd annual edition, in a hybrid format, hosting in-person and virtual screenings, panels and professional development events. 

While the Festival was born during the Pandemic, we are eager to welcome audiences back into theatres with 7 screenings taking place at Paradise Theatre and Innis Town Hall, from May 26 – 29. In addition, we are hosting 18 virtual screenings, a selection of which is available globally. 

This year’s festival includes a programme featuring multi-generational Canadian and international Arab filmmakers, highlighting strong female presence both in front and behind the camera. Over 50+ films, hailing from 19 countries, offering a plethora of nuanced and unique voices, as well as distinctive visual storytelling. Films from Europe, North America and over 10 Arab countries will be screened reflecting an authentic image of the diversity of Arabs around the world that has been misrepresented for far too long through redundant narratives that lack nuance and consideration.

A significant number of films this year come from countries that have been facing daily turmoil and conflict. One of TAF’s panels this year, will bring together a number of Lebanese filmmakers featured in the Festival, including multiple award-winning filmmaker Mounia Akl, to discuss creativity and filmmaking amid political and economic collapse. The live panel takes place on Friday May 27 virtually and is free for anyone to attend anywhere in the world. 

One of TAF’s primary mandates is to platform the emerging wave of Arab-Canadian filmmakers. This year, in addition to screening 10 Canadian films, we’re bringing a number of them together for a roundtable discussion on Sunday May 29 at the Paradise Theatre. 

Our opening night feature is Mounia Akl’s Costa Brava Lebanon, the winner of TIFF’s 2021 NETPAC Award. The film is a confident debut from Akl, that follows the free-spirited Badri family, who try to escape the political and environmental toxicity of Beirut by escaping to the mountains only to find their idyllic life shattered. 

Four film awards will be presented at this year’s Festival: Jury Award for Most Promising Filmmaker, Award for Best Canadian Short Film, Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film, and Jury Award for Best Feature Film. The jury awards are adjudicated by a team of Canadian and international jurors. The awards are a combination of financial and in-kind support, as well as a trophy designer by Canadian-Arab sculptor Habiba El-Sayed.

Single tickets and passes are now available for purchase, ranging from $10 for a single early-bird ticket to $65 for a full festival access pass. 

Tickets available now on: taf2022.eventive.org

Festival runs from May 26 until May 29, 2022. 

For press inquiries, please contact Rolla Tahir: rolla@arabfilm.ca.

We would like to thank our funders for their generosity in supporting this year’s Festival:

November 24 – 30, 2021

Join us for a week long virtual fundraiser as we call upon the community to raise funds for our 3rd annual film festival in 2022. Watch the film critics have called “vibrant and transfixing”, Amjad Abu Alala’s hypnotic feature film:

Since 2018, TAF has been bringing the best films of the Arab world to Toronto audiences. Over the past four years TAF has grown from a local seasonal screening series to an annual film festival with an international audience. 

Join us for an online screening along with daily raffle prizes and the opportunity to connect during our end-of year wrap party!

** The film will be available for streaming worldwide **

Join us for a live conversation with the filmmakers leading this year’s Nahda Film Lab:

Moderated by filmmaker Eiman Mirghani.

When: Saturday, October 23, 2021 
      2PM EST 
      via Zoom 

Send an email to info@arabfilm.ca to RSVP.

Goethe-Institut Toronto and the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) present Documentary Filmmaking and Storytelling with Daniel Carsenty

A free two-part digital workshop.

Co-presented with Toronto Arab Film (TAF) and the Toronto Palestine Film Festival (TPFF).

• Part 1: Artist Talk Saturday, September 18, 2021 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm ET. Register here.
• Part 2: Facilitated Workshop Sunday, September 19, 2021 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm ET. Register here.

Daniel Carsenty is a Berlin filmmaker currently working at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, teaching at the Raindance Institute London and the International Academy for Film and Media in Dhaka, Bangladesh. http://danielcarsenty.com

The documentary “The Devil’s Drivers”, co-directed by Daniel Carsenty and Mohammed Abugeth, is celebrating its world premiere at TIFF 2021. The Goethe-Institut Toronto showed the Canadian premiere of Carsenty’s debut, the refugee drama “After Spring Comes Fall,” in 2016 at GOETHE FILMS@TIFF Lightbox.

The central element of this workshop is the idea that a film—documentary or fiction—is at its core a character-driven story. The camera captures the relationships between people and visualizes the unspoken elements at play. Most films pivot around ‘dramatic’ scenes. Scenes in which characters express their wants and needs either vocally or through the subtext of body language. They run up against an obstacle and we as an audience ‘discover’ their true character in the way they deal with the obstacle on screen.

This two-part workshop, aimed at emerging and intermediate filmmakers, will create awareness for the basic elements of storytelling at play and show examples in which these elements have been successfully captured on screen. After a 90-minute introduction open to registered participants and general audiences, where Carsenty will be joined from Berlin by his collaborator filmmaker Mohammed Abugeth, the workshop participants will go out and independently film a dramatic scene with their own cameras, which has the power to stand alone as a short film or could be the centre of a longer documentary. On the second day, the workshop participants will screen their work and have a collaborative discussion, critique the work of their peers and grow an understanding of storytelling.

Toronto Arab Film is seeking new members to join the Board of Directors in 2021/2022 who are interested in helping to strengthen our fledgling organization and bring their expertise in organizational management, fundraising, sponsorships and partnerships to the table. As TAF grows we need a Board of Directors that is able to ensure the long-term sustainability of the organization. We are looking specifically for people who would be able to provide expertise and insight into alternative streams of funding which will allow for the organization to continue to deliver and diversify our year round programming. Although it is not a requirement, a passion for community arts and international film is an asset. 

Organization’s Artistic Discipline:
Media Arts 

Positions (3 available): 

• Volunteer Board Member – Treasurer
• Volunteer Board Member – PR & Media  
• Volunteer Board Member – Development & Sponsorship 

​Expertise Required: (In your application, please indicate all that applies.)

• Development / Fundraising 
• Finances 
• Government Relations
• Legal 
• Event Planning / Marketing 
• Outreach 
• Organization Management / Project Management 
• Media / Public Relations

Position Details: 

• Volunteer Board Member
• One year, renewable 
• Quarterly meetings 

How to apply:

• Interested applicants can reach out to Executive Director Mason Hatahet via the email below. Please include a short bio, expertise and the reason you’re interested in joining the TAF Board.  
• Resumes are not mandatory but you can include one if you would like. 

Deadline to apply: 
July 22, 2021

Contact information:
mason@arabfilm.ca
www.arabfilm.ca

ABOUT TORONTO ARAB FILM

Toronto Arab Film (TAF) is a non-for profit organization dedicated to bringing films from, and about the Arab world, to Toronto audiences. TAF began because of a need to fill a void that exists in film programming in Toronto, specifically a lack of films from the Arab regions and a desire to reinstate a tradition of going out of watch films that has been lost. 
Through our first initiative, Layali El Cinema, we programme year-round film screenings in Toronto. Through Mahrajan, our annual festival, we showcase Arab films from around the world. ​We also recognize the need to encourage interconnectedness between Arab filmmakers in Toronto and foster filmmakers, which we endeavour to do through the Shabaka initiative, where we support emerging talents through hosting networking events and running filmmaking workshops throughout the year.

The Toronto Arab Film Festival (TAF) is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s awards. The Festival took place virtually May 27 to May 30.  This year, three awards were presented after the Festival – the Jury Award for Most Promising Filmmaker, the Award for Best Canadian Short Film and the Audience Choice Award.

The recipients are: ​

• Award for Most Promising Filmmaker: Suzannah Mirghani, Al-Sit
• Best Canadian Short Film:  Ines Guennaoui, Storm Child
• Audience Choice Award: Suzannah Mirghani, Al-Sit

About Toronto Arab Film 

​Toronto Arab Film (TAF) is a non-for profit organization dedicated to bringing films from, and about the Arab world, to Toronto audiences. TAF began because of a need to fill a void that exists in film programming in Toronto, specifically a lack of films from the Arab regions, and a desire to diversify the visual representation of the Arab peoples in the arts. ​ Through our first initiative, Layali El Cinema, we programme year-round film screenings in Toronto.  Through Mahrajan, our annual festival, we showcase Arab films from around the world. ​We also recognize the need to encourage interconnectedness between Arab filmmakers in Toronto and foster filmmakers, which we endeavour to do through the Shabaka initiative, where we support emerging talents through hosting networking events and filmmaking workshops throughout the year. 

Social Media:
facebook.com/TorontoArabFilm
twitter.com/TorontoArabFilm
instagram.com/TorontoArabFilm

For any press related questions, contact: rolla@arabfilm.ca
​
The Festival is made possible this year by the generous support of the Toronto Arts Council and in-kind support from the following community partners: Images Film Festival, the Liaison of
Independent Filmmakers of Toronto and Trinity Square Video. 

The Toronto Arab Film Festival (TAF) is pleased to announce the dates and programme for the 2nd annual film festival, including films from Sudan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Qatar, United States, Belgium, France, Egypt and five films from Canada. 

The Festival will take place virtually May 27 to May 30, 2021. 

Egyptian critic Joseph Fahim writes “A couple of years ago, I aired my frustrations about the narrow scope of Middle Eastern films to a European critic. His reply? “But what else is there to the Middle East than this?” Well, there’s much more to the Middle East than war, poverty, immigration, terrorism and the subjugation of women and refugees.” This is precisely what we hope to highlight through TAF. 

Our second festival comes during a very strange, challenging and weary time. Despite that, as we journey into our upcoming festival, the films submitted provide such an interesting diversity that emulates – and feeds into – the diversity of Toronto, the city of film lovers. Journey with us from a cotton farm in Sudan, to the suburbs of Saudi Arabia, from the beaches of Morocco to storm ridden Montreal. 

Among the feature films presented, is Amin Sidi-Boumediene’s debut feature, Abou Leila, a genre-bending ruminative thriller set during the Algerian civil war, which premiered during Cannes Critics’ Week.  The short films screened feature strong female presence behind and in front of the camera, including Aziza, a short film from award-winning Syrian filmmaker Soudade Kaadan.

Among the Q&As scheduled, we are particularly excited to present a Q&A with Moroccan filmmaker Alaa Eddine Aljem and Sudanese filmmaker Eltayib Mahdi as they talk about their films, The Unknown Saint and The Tomb respectively, made more than 40 years apart, yet exploring similar themes.

There will be three awards presented during this Festival – the Jury Award for Most Promising Filmmaker, the Award for Best Canadian Short Film and the Audience Choice Award.

About Toronto Arab Film 

​Toronto Arab Film (TAF) is a non-for profit organization dedicated to bringing films from, and about the Arab world, to Toronto audiences. TAF began because of a need to fill a void that exists in film programming in Toronto, specifically a lack of films from the Arab regions, and a desire to diversify the visual representation of the Arab peoples in the arts. ​ Through our first initiative, Layali El Cinema, we programme year-round film screenings in Toronto.  Through Mahrajan, our annual festival, we showcase Arab films from around the world. ​We also recognize the need to encourage interconnectedness between Arab filmmakers in Toronto and foster filmmakers, which we endeavour to do through the Shabaka initiative, where we support emerging talents through hosting networking events and filmmaking workshops throughout the year. ​
TAF separates itself from other Arab film festivals in the city by focusing on the pan-Arab identity and the nuances of the overlapping and intersecting identities of millions of people that are culturally nomadic and exist all across the world. We aim to increase the awareness of local media, audiences and academics to new Arab cinema, which in turn, we hope will be reflected in their journalism, curriculums and general dialogue surrounding Arabs. The festival’s mission is to present stories that reflect the diversities of the Arab peoples and the myriad of histories, cultures and religions that exist within the Arab world and beyond.

Social Media: 
facebook.com/TorontoArabFilm
twitter.com/TorontoArabFilm
instagram.com/TorontoArabFilm

For any press related questions, contact: rolla@arabfilm.ca

The Festival is made possible this year by the generous support of the Toronto Arts Council and in-kind support from the following community partners: Images Film Festival, the Liaison of  Independent Filmmakers of Toronto and Trinity Square Video.