Call for applications: middle east now film festival 2017

The call for submissions for the 8th edition of Middle East Now, a festival of cinema, documentaries, art and culture from the Middle East and North Africa that will be held in Florence (Italy) from 4-9 April 2017, is now open. The festival is looking for feature films, documentaries, shorts and animated films produced between 2015 and 2017, and coming from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Turkey, the UAE and Yemen. The festival is looking for talented film directors who tell stories through beautiful movies, in order to present the real face of the Middle East.Two awards will be handed out: the “Middle East Now Audience Award”, to the best film, and the “NYU Florence Best Short”, voted on by a jury from New York University in Florence.

The call for submissions for the 8th edition of Middle East Now, a festival of cinema, documentaries, art and culture from the Middle East and North Africa that will be held in Florence (Italy) from 4-9 April 2017, is now open. 

The festival is looking for feature films, documentaries, shorts and animated films produced between 2015 and 2017, and coming from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Turkey, the UAE and Yemen.

The festival is looking for talented film directors who tell stories through beautiful movies, in order to present the real face of the Middle East.

Two awards will be handed out: the “Middle East Now Audience Award”, to the best film, and the “NYU Florence Best Short”, voted on by a jury from New York University in Florence.

To submit your film, please download the entry form here, fill it in and send it by email to [email protected] (together with a high-resolution picture of the film and a link to watch it) or by post (signed, together with a DVD of the film) to:

Map of Creation Associazione Culturale
Att. Ms Lisa Chiari
Via Lungo L’Affrico, 102
50137 Firenze, Italy

The submission deadline is 5 February 2017.

Middle East Now is the only event in Italy dedicated to the contemporary Middle East and North African regions, and aims to shine a spotlight on the culture and identity of the countries in this part of the world and bring them to the attention of the Italian public, challenging the stereotypes that often emerge in the international mass media. The festival programme is designed to give visibility to films that do not normally find Italian distribution opportunities. The gathering is also enriched by photography, visual arts, painting and sculpture exhibitions, as well as debates and book presentations.

In 2016, the festival screened 44 films, including 19 shorts and 38 Italian premieres. Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad’s The Idol was awarded the Middle East Now Audience Award.

For more information, please click here