Festival:

SAFAR Film Festival 2024: On Dreams, Hopes and Realities

Wed 19 Jun 2024 — Mon 24 Jun 2024

How can bearing witness to a reality enable us to challenge it? Are we allowed to hope beyond it? And can we achieve our dreams individually, or do we need to dream together, collectively, to ensure they come true?” – Rabih El-Khoury, festival curator

The SAFAR Film Festival is the largest festival in the UK dedicated to cinema from the Arab world. Founded in 2012, SAFAR showcases the broad spectrum of film from the region by working with curators on themed programmes and inviting filmmakers for live Q&As and events.

The 2024 edition brings together over 50 films from 15 countries including new releases, classics, family friendly screenings, archive films and more. This year’s festival theme aims to highlight a multitude of daily realities being faced across the Arab world and reflect on how small hopes and bigger dreams co-exist within such contexts.

The ninth edition of the festival runs from 18-30 June 2024 with screenings in London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford and Plymouth. SAFAR is supported by the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery, the British Council, the Bagri Foundation and the Barjeel Art Foundation.

More Info: safarfilmfestival.co.uk

Past Screenings

SAFAR Futures Young Programmers: In the Belly of the Beast 18

A film event curated by Amel Moyersoen, Loulwah Kutbi and Sally Zarzour, as part of the the SAFAR Futures Young Programmers… Read More
1979-2015, Various, Various, 76m.
This screening has now passed.

Animalia 18

Introduced by Rabih El-Khoury, SAFAR Film Festival Curator Itto, a young woman from a modest rural background, is slowly adapting to… Read More
Sofia Alaou, France, Morocco, Qatar, 2023, 90m.
This screening has now passed.

Soraida, A Woman of Palestine 18

Introduced by Rabih El-Khoury, SAFAR Film Festival curator Soraida, A Woman of Palestine (2004) captures the reflections, concerns and imagination of a… Read More
Tahani Rached, Canada, 2004, 120m.
This screening has now passed.

Fatma 75 + Q&A with director Selma Baccar 18

Introduced by Rabih El-Khoury, SAFAR Film Festival curator and followed by an online Q&A with director Selma Baccar. A pioneering film… Read More
Selma Baccar, Tunisia, 1975, 61m.
This screening has now passed.