It started off as an activity for the project Rotterdam 2001: cultural capital of Europe. After the success of the first edition, the organisation of the festival decided to turn it into a yearly recurring event. The festival has grown into a leading, yearly event that practises an important function for the multicultural society in the Netherlands. The festival is also one of the most important a
ctivities for the Islamic and Arabic community in the Netherlands. Organisers
The Arab Film Festival Rotterdam is organised by the foundation of " Arabisch Forum in Nederland". This foundation is a cultural organisation that aims to promote and develop the interests of the Arabic community in the Netherlands. The Arab Film Festival Rotterdam is organised in cooperation with the foundation Stichting Film in de Buurt (Foundation films in the neighbourhood). This foundation is an organisation for the arts and strives to give cinema a new position within the foreign communities. The foundation also tries to stimulate a dialogue between different cultures by using film. The team of the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam exists out of professional members and volunteers with different backgrounds (Arabic/European, Male/female, all of different age groups). The festival often works together with several correspondents from different Arabic and European countries, this to create a larger international network. The Jury and Hawk Awards
the 10th edition of the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam will have three competitions during our annual award show:
- Competition Feature Films: two winners will receive the following prize: the Golden Hawk or Silver Hawk.
- Competition Short Films: two winners will receive the following prize: the Golden Hawk or the Silver Hawk.
- Competition Documentaries: two winners will receive the following prize: the Golden Hawk and the Silver Hawk. The Arab Film Festival Rotterdam also gives out awards and certificates in other categories:
- Best actor/actress
- Several certificates of appreciation
Two different jury teams are set up to judge which films/artists receive one of the prestigious prices. There will be one team for the Competition Feature Films and one for the Competition Documentaries. Every team consists of three members, we select the members on the following aspects:
- Jury members should be experienced artists in their own area of expertise
- Jury members should vary in cultural backgrounds (come from different countries in the world, Arabic/European etc.)
