“Contemporary world cinema is unthinkable without the influence, reach, and diversity of film festivals. Once a limited but impactful province of state power display, film festivals have become a key force in the film business, and a central platform for the exhibition and distribution of international cinema–indeed any cinema not bound into Hollywood’s network” (Deshpande and Mazaj 105).

“Lebanese director-actor Nadine Labaki and her drama ‘Capernaum,’ an award winner at Cannes, are set to kick off the first edition of the Festival Des Cinemas Arabes, an ambitious new event in Paris dedicated to Arab films. ‘Capernaum,’ about a 12-year-old boy who takes his parents to court ‘for giving me life’ in the painful world of Beirut’s slums, won the Cannes Jury Prize last month. Labaki and her film, which will play out of competition, will inaugurate the 11-day Arab film festival June 28 in Paris’ Institute du Monde Arab (Institute of the Arab World)” says Nick Vivarelli.

Read more on Variety about the Festival Des Cinemas Arabes