Malmö Arab Film Festival

Plats
Malmö
Datum
Nu - 16 april 2026
Cineville-förmån
Alla visningar ingår i Cineville
Hemsida
www.maffswe.com

The 16th edition of the Malmö Arab Film Festival will reaffirm its position as a significant cultural event in the city of Malmö and within Sweden’s broader cultural landscape. This edition is shaped by a vision centered on dialogue, inclusion, and civic participation through cinema, further strengthening Malmö’s role as an open and creative city that embraces diversity.

The 2026 selection presents a panorama of some of the most prominent contemporary Arab films that have screened at major international festivals worldwide, with many receiving prestigious awards and critical acclaim. Through this curated selection, the festival reinforces its role as a key – and in many cases unique – window for Swedish audiences to experience these films on the big screen, within a structured cultural framework that encourages discussion and engagement with filmmakers.

For the first time in the festival’s history, all films will be fully subtitled in Swedish. This strategic step significantly enhances accessibility, broadens audience reach, and underscores the festival’s commitment to inclusion and cultural integration within Swedish society.

All films are screeened at Panora, except the opening and closing films that will screen at Royal. All films are included in the Cineville membership!

In addition, the festival screens a film with free admission:
Monday 13 April | 17:30 | The Last Chapter

Alla filmer från Malmö Arab Film Festival

All That's Left of You

After a Palestinian teen gets swept up into a West Bank protest, his mother recounts the family story of hope, courage and relentless struggle that led to this fateful moment.

Anti-Cinema

A documentary exploring Saudi Arabia's hidden film culture, following movie lovers who grew up without theaters in the 1980s and uncovering the nation's pre-1979 cinematic history through pioneers who kept their passion alive.

Baab

After discovering cassette tapes hidden behind a green door, Wahida begins to unravel the truth about her twin sister’s death. Plagued by tinnitus, her journey into the mountains uncovers an unsettling revelation.

Calle Málaga

Maryam Touzani följer upp succén Den blå kaftanen med en sensuell och hjärtevärmande feelgood, som slår fast att ålderdom är allt annat än att säga adjö till bångstyrighet, livslust, drömmar och het passion.

Visas från fredag 9 oktober 2026

Complaint No. 713317

A broken refrigerator becomes the symbol of a society trapped in an endless cycle of repairs and temporary fixes.

Diktatorns tårta

På diktatorn Saddam Husseins födelsedag ska hela Irak äta tårta. Lamia, som bor ensam med sin fattiga farmor, blir utvald att baka kakan till klassen. Med livet som insats inleds en komplicerad och händelserik jakt efter ingredienser i ett ovisst stadsmyller.

Flana

Iraqi filmmaker Zahraa Ghandour's documentary details how the war on Iraq reinforced patriarchal systems, compelling mothers to leave their baby daughters behind in a society that rejects them.

Habibi Hussein

A Palestinian projectionist embarks on a journey through the West Bank, seeking parts to restore an old movie theater's projector when a German NGO arrives to renovate it, clinging to hopes of reclaiming his former position.

Hijra

A Saudi grandmother travels from Taif to Mecca to perform Hajj with her two granddaughters. When suddenly one of them goes missing, they go on a journey to find her, confronting strangers, harsh landscapes, and long-buried family secrets.

Irkalla: Gilgamesh's Dream

In a Baghdad shaken by violence, the diabetic street child Chum Chum dreams of reuniting with his parents at the bottom of the Tigris, just as in the legend of Gilgamesh. Meanwhile, his friend Moody is hatching a risky escape plan.

Life After Siham

To cope with his mother's death, Egyptian-French filmmaker Namir Abdel Messeeh turns to cinema, discovering its true power: bringing the dead to life.

Love, Imagined

Sarah Rozik's romantic drama follows an introverted university professor whose life is disrupted by a student. As events progress, he becomes entangled in her relationship with her boyfriend and realizes he's falling for her too.

MAFF: Vinnare bästa kortfilm + Vinnare bästa dokumentär

Vinnare bästa kortfilm + Vinnare bästa dokumentär

MAFF: Vinnare bästa långfilm

Vinnare bästa långfilm

MAFF: Vinnare publikpriset

Vinnare av publikpriset

My Father and Qaddafi

In 1993, Mansur Rashid Kikhia, Libya's former diplomat and peaceful opponent to Qaddafi vanished in Cairo. His daughter Jihan investigates his disappearance while documenting her mother's 19-year search for truth.

My Father's Scent

Over the course of one long night, a father and his son each discover many secrets about the other, and together they try to overcome all the differences of the past and move forward.

One More Show

Amidst the devastation of the genocide carried by Israel in Gaza, a group of circus performers refuse to let despair take center stage. One More Show follows The Free Gaza troupe as they turn their craft into an act of defiance, resilience, and hope.

Short Film Package 1

Short films Coyotes, Salem Not Salem, Somewhere Else, The Last Miracle and The Victim Zero.

Short Film Package 2

Short films 32B, Irtizaz, Paradise Garden, Salopette, Suspelsnion, and Umbilical Chord.

Sink

A mother refuses to accept her suspended high school senior son's deteriorating mental health, clinging to belief he only needs direction as warning signs multiply and crisis looms.

Swedish Voices

Short films $piral, Laundry Time, Let Me Open the Door, One Day I Will Hug You, and Sing My Song.

The Stories

Writer-director Abu Bakr Shawky tells a story of friendship, adversity and determination set between Egypt and Austria in the late 20th century.

To Dream, Perhaps

In a quiet, contemplative journey between Tunis and Berlin, director Nidhal Guiga observes a generation living on the margins — suspended between the desire to dream and the weight of reality, between what was and what could be.

Where the Wind Comes From

Alyssa, a rebellious 19 year-old, and her friend, shy 23-year-old Mehdi, dream of escaping their reality. Upon discovering a contest offering a chance to flee, they embark on a road trip to southern Tunisia, overcoming obstacles along the way.

Yunan

An exiled Syrian author travels to a remote island in the North Sea to commit suicide. There he stays at a modest hotel run by a devoted elderly woman whose quiet humanity incites a reawakening of his desires and instincts for life.