Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated documentary Four Daughters and Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s Lupita Nyong’o-EPed drama Goodbye Julia lead the nominations in the eighth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab Films.
Hybrid work Four Daughters, exploring the story of a real-life Tunisian mother who lost two of her daughters to ISIS after they were radicalized by a local preacher, world premiered in Competition in Cannes last year.
The film won Cannes’ Golden Eye for Best Documentary and also went on to be nominated for Best Documentary at the 2024 Academy Awards.
Kordofani’s Khartoum-set drama Goodbye Julia was also at Cannes in 2023, making history as the first Sudanese film to play in the festival across its 76 editions, with a debut in Un Certain Regard. It represented Sudan at in the 2023-24 Oscar race but was not nominated.
Set against the backdrop of the 2011 South Sudan Independence referendum, the drama explores the country’s North-South divide through the complex relationship between two women from either side.
Both films scored nominations in seven categories.
Other frontrunners include Egyptian director Abu Bakr Shawky’s Hajjan, set against the Saudi camel racing scene; Jordanian filmmaker Amjad Al-Rasheed’s female inheritance drama Inshallah A Boy, and Palestinian-British director Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher, starring Saleh Bakri as a West Bank teacher committed to political resistance.
The Critics Awards for Arab Films are an initiative of promotional body the Arab Cinema Centre and its co-founders Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab.
This year’s edition is open to all Arab films which premiered outside of the Arab World in 2023. They are being voted on by a jury committee of 209 critics from 72 countries.
The ever-expanding initiative, aimed at putting the spotlight on internationally successful Arab independent films, has added a short film category for the first time this year.
“As usual, these films are the cream of the crop and have done the rounds in the festival circuit throughout last year, and some of them are still going strong this year,” said Critics Awards for Arab Films manager Deborah Young.
“For this year’s edition, we’re also adding yet another category, Best Short Film, as part of our constant desire to cover all of the bases and talents of the pan-Arab cinema industry,” she added.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Arab Cinema Centre stand in Cannes on May 18.
The final list of nominees is:
Best Feature Film
GOODBYE JULIA | Mohamed Kordofani | Sudan
INSHALLAH A BOY | Amjad Al-Rasheed |Jordan
HAJJAN | Abu Bakr Shawky| Saudi Arabia
THE TEACHER | Farah Nabulsi | Palestine
THE BURDENED | Amr Gamal | Yemen
Best Director
Mohamed Kordofani | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Kaouther Ben Hania | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
Karim Bensalah | SIX FEET OVER | France
Asmae ElMoudir | THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES | Morocco
Amjad Al-Rasheed | INSHALLAH A BOY | Jordan
Best Screenplay
Mohamed Kordofani | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Amr Gamal, Mazen Refaat | THE BURDENED | Yemen
Kamal Al-Azrak | HOUNDS | Morocco
Delphine Agut, Rula Nasser, Amjad Al-Rasheed | INSHALLAH A BOY | Jordan
Omar Shama, Mufarrij Almajfel, Abu Bakr Shawky | HAJJAN | Saudi Arabia
Best Actress
Mouna Hawa | INSHALLAH A BOY | Jordan
Eiman Yousif | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Hend Sabry | KIRA & EL GIN | Egypt
Hend Sabry | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
Adwa Bader | NAGA | Saudi Arabia
Best Actor
Ibrahim Al-Hasawi | HAJJAN | Saudi Arabia
Majd Mastoura | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
Ayoub Elaid | HOUNDS | Morocco
Saleh Bakri | THE TEACHER | Palestine
Nazar Goma | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Best Documentary
FOUR DAUGHTERS | Kaouther Ben Hania | Tunisia
THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES | Asmae ElMoudir | Morocco
Q | Jude Chehab | Lebanon
UNDER THE SKY OF DAMASCUS | Talal Derki, Heba Khaled, Ali Wajeeh | Syria
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL | Mohamed Jabaly | Palestine
Best Short Film
I PROMISE YOU PARADISE | Morad Mostafa | Egypt
LES CHENILLES | Noel Keserwany, Michelle Keserwany | Lebanon
THE RED SEA MAKES ME WANNA CRY | Faris Alrjoob | Jordan
SEA SALT | Leila Basma | Lebanon
THE KEY | Rakan Mayasi | Palestine
Best Music
Amine Bouhafa | HAJJAN | Saudi Arabia
Amine Bouhafa | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
Mazen Hamid | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Omar Fadel | NAGA | Saudi Arabia
Alex Baranowski | THE TEACHER | Palestine
Best Cinematography
Farouk Laâridh | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
Kanamé Onoyama | INSHALLAH A BOY | Jordan
Gilles Porte | THE TEACHER | Palestine
Gerry Vasbenter | HAJJAN | Saudi Arabia
Ahmad Al Morsy | KIRA & EL GIN | Egypt
Best Editing
Ahmed Hafez | INSHALLAH A BOY | Jordan
Heba Othman | GOODBYE JULIA | Sudan
Fahd Ahmed | Q | Lebanon
Sarah Peczek | HAJJAN | Saudi Arabia
Qutaiba Barhamji | FOUR DAUGHTERS | Tunisia
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