Welcome to the 12th ALFILM Home Edition!

The 12th ALFILM is just around the corner and is knocking on your doors. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, the doors of the cinemas remain closed. Instead, the festival hopes to be welcomed on your screens through Indiekino Club, a new streaming platform for Berlin cinemas, and will offer you an intensive festival experience from the comfort of your homes.
 
ALFILM will bring a selection of fresh films from the Arab world. Despite the current difficulties and restrictions, several films from the 12th ALFILM Home Edition have conquered festivals and audiences worldwide. Striking cinematography, gripping stories and bold statements are at the heart of this year’s Official Selection alongside with strong protagonists who defy all odds and fight for change. Dealing with a wide variety of themes like migration, gender roles, or the question of memory, the contemporary fiction and documentary films of the OFFICIAL SELECTION paint a vivid and personal picture of a changing region.
The short film program Fighting Against All Odds portrays children, men, and women who are placed in challenging situations and who have to find ways to overcome the obstacles that stand in their ways.
This year’s SPOTLIGHT entitled Genres Revisited: Visionary Imagery and Fragmented Narratives in Contemporary Arab cinema takes a deeper look into fiction films that revisit mainstream genres through an author’s perspective. In these highly aesthetic films, the conventions of genres are but an excuse to deal with taboo political and social questions. A short-film program dedicated to Science fiction focuses on disrupted worlds.
Daily film talks with the directors and two panel discussions will complement the online film program.