Be part of the twentieth edition of Mizna’s Twin Cities Arab Film Festival. Mizna is marking this significant milestone with an ongoing, multivenue program, Looking Forward, Looking Back, which spotlights images from the history of SWANA filmmaking and our past festivals.

Established in 2003, the Arab Film Fest debuts independent narrative, documentary, and experimental features and short films from more than fifteen Arabic-speaking countries and their diasporas. The festival puts Arab and Southwest Asian and North African filmmakers at all career stages in critical dialogue with one another and with Mizna audiences.

In addition to exhibiting films, the Arab Film Fest hosts panel discussions, dialogues, and performances, capturing and engaging with the three-dimensional narratives of the Arabic-speaking world and its diaspora. The Arab Film Fest screens contemporary and classic dramas, comedies, documentaries, genre films, and experimental video projects, including the work of filmmakers from countries including Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Egypt, Sudan, Iran, Algeria, and Morocco. All films are screened in their original languages with English subtitles.

WHERE: This year’s festival takes place primarily at The Main Cinema and closes at the Walker Art Center with two screenings and a hosted closing reception. Additional venues comprise the Third Ave Bridge, Bryant Lake Bowl, and A-Mill Artist Lofts.