Focus on ARAB CINEMA at the 23rd Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival.

At the 23rd Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival this year (January 05-16, 2012), a showcase of Arab cinema from North Africa to the Middle East will be screened. The film lineup entitled: ‘ARABIAN NIGHTS: A Showcase from the Middle East’ will premier 11 films from the new wave of pan-Arabic cinema this past year during one of the region’s most explosive and revolutionary periods in modern history.

Asma’a (Egypt) Director: Amr Salama.

Cairo 678 (Egypt) – Director: Mohamed Diab Bushra.

Habibi (Palestinian Territories/USA, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates) Director: Susan Youssef.

How Big is Your Love (Algeria/Morocco) Director: Fatma Zohra Zamoum.

Love in the Medina (Morocco) –Director: Abdelhaï Laraki.

Man Without a Cell Phone (Palestinian Territories/France, Belgium, Qatar). Director: Sameh Zoabi.

On The Edge (Morocco/France, Germany) -Director: Leila Kilani

The Rif Lover (Morocco/France, Belgium) –Director: Narjiss Nejjar.

Sea Shadow (United Arab Emirates) Director: Nawaf Al-Janahi.

The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni (Lebanon) –Director: Rania Stephan.

Transit Cities (Jordan) –Director: Mohammad Hushki.

The Festival will feature an exceptional platform of more than 200 films from more than 60 countries including 40 of the 63 official submissions to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Best Foreign Language Film.

-Vanessa McMahon, December 29, 2011