With the Cannes Film Festival back in full swing, we figured it’s the perfect time to shout out some of the Arab films that didn’t just make it to the red carpet, they made history. From raw documentaries to animated shorts, these films have taken home serious wins and told powerful stories in the process.
Here are some of our favorite Arab movies that left their mark at Cannes over the years:
The Brink of Dreams – Egypt (2024)
Directed by: Nada Riyadh & Ayman El Amir
Award: L’Œil d’or (Golden Eye) for Best Documentary
Filmed over four years in a remote village in southern Egypt, this documentary follows a group of girls who form an all-female street theatre troupe.
They dream of becoming actresses, dancers, and singers, even if society isn’t ready for them. The film captures their fierce resistance to tradition and the bittersweet shift from girlhood to adulthood.
This is the first Egyptian film ever to win the Golden Eye at Cannes.
I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face – Egypt (2020)
Directed by: Sameh Alaa
Award: Palme d’Or for Best Short Film
A 15-minute journey through love, loss, and bold decisions. Adam disguises himself to sneak past societal barriers and reunite with the person he loves after 82 days apart.
Quiet but deeply moving, this was the first Egyptian short film to ever take home the Palme d’Or.
Divines – Morocco/France (2016)
Directed by: Houda Benyamina
Award: Caméra d’Or for Best First Feature
Set in a Paris suburb where hustling and religion collide, this film centers on Dounia, a teen girl who trades school for the drug game. But when she meets a dancer, everything starts to shift.
Raw, real, and electric. Benyamina, who was born in France to Moroccan parents, took home the Caméra d’Or, and made everyone sit up and pay attention.
Waves ’98 – Lebanon (2015)
Directed by: Ely Dagher
Award: Palme d’Or for Best Short Film
Omar is a teen stuck in the dull suburbs of Beirut when something surreal draws him deep into the city’s heart.
Animated, dreamy, and disorienting in all the right ways, this short film made Ely Dagher the first Lebanese to ever win the Palme d’Or in the short film category.
Omar – Palestine (2013)
Directed by: Hany Abu-Assad
Award: Special Jury Prize (Un Certain Regard)
A love story. A war story. A betrayal story. Omar sneaks across the separation wall to see his secret love, Nadia. But after a violent act and an arrest, he’s pulled into a dangerous game of survival and trust.
Abu-Assad delivers an intense, gut-punching narrative that also went on to earn an Oscar nomination.
Chronicle of the Years of Fire – Algeria (1975)
Directed by: Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina
Award: Palme d’Or
An epic if there ever was one. This six-part saga tracks the rise of Algerian nationalism through the eyes of a farmer named Ahmad.
From WWII to the Algerian War of Independence, the film tells a sweeping, painful story of colonization, resistance, and revolution. It’s the first Arab film to ever win the Palme d’Or.
It’s safe to say Arab filmmakers aren’t just attending Cannes, they’re changing it. From rural Egypt to war-torn Palestine to the streets of Paris, these films carry stories that are bold, urgent, and beautifully told. And with every win, they’re paving the way for even more voices to be heard.
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