The Arab Film Festival in Rotterdam announces the dates for it’s 8th Annual film event: June 18th-22nd 2008

On a recent guest visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, acclaimed Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europe) made an assessment of the current filmmaking situation in the small Gulf county. Noting similarities to the filmmaking opportunities of her childhood Communist Eastern Europe, Holland recognized that the changes happening in the UAE are significant, but results will take time.

Read the full article here.

*photo by Randi Sokoloff/The National

After years of working on European and American film productions, Omar Sharif is scheduled to star in two Arabic language films in the coming year.

The first is the biggest budget Egyptian comedy to date, entitled ‘Hassan and Morcoss,’ co-starring Adel Imam, about the relationship between an Muslim cleric and a Christian priest who are forced to switch identities.

The other film, with a record-breaking budget of $50 million, is the Libyan feature “Years of Torment,’ in which Sharif will play the Libyan revolutionary leader Omar Mukhtar. Pic was written and financed by Libyan president Moammar Gaddafi.

Full article Variety here.

Ali Jaafar reporting from the Cannes Film Festival lays out a number of new Palestinian films scheduled for completion in 2008.

Here’s a quick summary of the Palestinian films mentioned in Jaafar’s article:

Annemarie Jacir’s Salt of the Sea, premiered at Cannes this week.

Najwa Najjar’s feature debut Pomegranates and Myrrh.

Rachid Masharawi’s (whose credits include Waiting and Ticket to Jerusalem) latest feature Leila’s Birthday, will world premiere at Abu Dhabi’s Middle East Intl. Film Fest in October.

Elia Suleiman, whose Divine Intervention won the 2002 Jury Prize at Cannes, will begin shooting The Time That Remains in July.

Tawfiq Abu Wael, whose Thirst won the Cannes Fipresci prize in 2004, is prepping his sophomore feature, loosely based on Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani’s 1968 novel Return to Haifa.

Hany Abu Assad, who won the Golden Globe for foreign film and received an Oscar nomination for Paradise Now, is also prepping his English-language debut.

In addition to those projects mentioned in this article is the first feature-length film from Palestinian-American, Cherien Dabis (short Make a Wish). Amreeka is currently in mid-production in Palestine.

Read the full article here.

*Photo of Cherien Dabis from the Sydney Arab Film Festival

Yesterday marked the beginning of the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and, in addition to the films already mentioned on the AFF blog, a film

In this comprehensive article, Ali Jaafar sets forth the recent deals between major Hollywood studios and future Arab movie makers, as well as many of the major challenges facing the region’s burgeoning film industries. While the majority of deals have been either real estate-related (with a rapid development of theme parks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi) or the investment of Gulf money into American film productions, Arab media moguls are working fast to build a local Arab film industry (beyond just Egypt) with the guidance and support of Hollywood know-how.

Read the full article here.

Palestinian director Elia Suleiman has announced he will begin filming “Time,” the final film in his trilogy that includes “Chronicle of a Disappearance” and “Divine Intervention.”

He will begin shooting the film in July. Along with European financiers, it is of note that Arab media company MBC, that publicly announced in February its desire to get into the film production business, is also one of the backers.

Full Variety article here.

Lebanese filmmaker, Zeina Aboul Hosn’s short film I REMEMBER LEBANON took the prize for best film from Asia/Australia on Saturday at the first ever Pangea Day.

For four hours, twenty-four films “made by the world for the world” were broadcast live around the globe via the Internet and at organized events.

In I REMEMBER LEBANON, Aboul Hosn records the daily lives of friends and family in Lebanon. 12-year old Anas wants to be a filmmaker, Zeid’s rock band is ready to tour the world, and Marianne’s TV career is just taking off. But when the bombs begin to fall, what happens to the dreams and aspirations of a country left in limbo?”

More about Pangea Day here.

Rachid Bouchareb, the French-Algerian filmmaker whose Days of Glory was a 2006 French box office favorite (not to mention nominated for an Oscar), has announced two future projects.

The first, London River, is a French-German production about the London terror attacks in 2005.

The other, perhaps a bit more exciting for fans of Days of Glory, is the sequel to the story, entitled Outside the Law.

“Outside the Law, which Bouchareb will start filming in February, takes the “Days” story forward to the Algerian battles in Paris for independence from France in the wake of WWII.”

Full Variety article here.