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Mira Shaib’s Arzé pulls its framework from the shadow of Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948), but the parallels go beyond plot alone. Shaib re-contextualizes the journey of a stolen scooter, placing it firmly within the fractured landscape of modern-day Beirut.

In this sense, the film is as much a portrait of Lebanon’s internal divisions as it is a personal story of a mother’s desperation. The streets of Beirut, alive with movement and tension, act as more than just a backdrop—they embody the wounds of a nation split by sectarianism and economic instability.

Shaib’s debut feels grounded in a specific historical and cultural moment yet also speaks to a broader, almost universal reality: that survival—personal and familial—requires bending the rules, even breaking them. Arzé, a single mother striving to keep her family afloat, is pushed to extremes that are both heartbreaking and darkly comedic.

Lebanese Oscar entry “Arzé” takes its cues from Vittorio De Sica’s “Bicycle Thieves,” but maps the classic story onto modern-day Beirut. Mira Shaib’s directorial debut has the growing pains of a first feature. However, as it gradually explores its political backdrop, its drama transforms in intriguing, even exciting ways, as diligent single mother Arzé (Diamand Abou Abboud) and her angsty teenage son Kinan (Bilal Al Hamwi) travel between neighborhoods segregated by sect and class.

Before this sectarian scope emerges, “Arzé” appears relatively straightforward as a social drama. Arzé — whose husband has long since left for Europe in search of a better life — runs a bakery out of her kitchen, for which she and Kinan make deliveries by foot. They also care for Arzé’s sister Layla (Betty Taoutel), whose own husband was kidnapped some time ago, and who lives under the constant delusion that he might return any second.

It’s that special time of year again. So much anticipation… so many parties… so much to consume and consider. If these phrases conjure up the holidays and all the stress that comes with them, think again.

It’s awards season— the period from late fall to early spring when movies and the people who make them get recognized for their efforts. Whether you’re a film goer, lover, maker, or all of the above, awards season is an opportunity to witness the exceptional craft of storytellers worldwide.

With the 97th Oscars just around the corner, we’re excited to highlight official submissions for Best International Feature, as well as a Best Live Action Short eligible film, made by Fellows and Participants from Film Independent’s programs. These stories underscore the universal value of human connection, while showcasing the importance of cultures and perspectives from around the world. Film Independent’s Global Media Makers,...

The 45th edition of the Cairo Film Festival concluded with the top prize, the Golden Pyramid Award, going to Bogdan Mureșanu’s “The New Year That Never Came.” The black comedy, which previously won the Horizons sidebar at the Venice Film Festival, is set in 1989 during the festive season that immediately precedes the downfall of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu.

The Special Jury Award for best director, the Silver Pyramid, went to Russian director Natalia Nazarova for “Postmarks,” which also picked up a best actor award for Maxim Stoyanov and a special mention for the female lead, Alina Khojevanova. The other male lead award went to Lee Kang-Sheng for his performance in “Blue Sun Palace.”

The International Jury led by Danis Tanović (“No Man’s Land”) also awarded the Bronze Pyramid for best debut or second feature award to Pedro Freire’s “Malu.” The Rio-set film was inspired by his...

The Asian World Film Festival announced its winners Nov. 21 at an awards ceremony at the Culver Theater hosted by Kyrgyz director and actress Elnura Osmanalieva and TV host, filmmaker and actor Mico Saad.

Crime drama “Abang Adik” (Malaysia), directed by Jin Ong, took home the Snow Leopard Award for best film, while the film’s star Wu Kang-ren won the Snow Leopard best actor trophy. Best actress went to Diamond Bou Abboud for the social dramedy “Arze” (Lebanon), directed by Mira Shaib.

The Special Jury Prize went to family drama “In the Arms of the Tree” (Iran) directed by Babak Khajeh Pasha. The Snow Leopard Panavision Award for cinematography was awarded to cinematographer Zhanrbek Yeleubek for Kazakhstan coming-of-age drama “Bauryna Salu.” The award comes with a $45,000 Panavision Camera Package Grant. “The Glassworker,” Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animated film and directed by Usman Riaz, won the Audience Award.

Writer, director and...

The Asian World Film Festival (Awff) is delighted to announce the festival’s Main Competition and Short Film lineups; select, noteworthy screenings; special program highlights; and centerpiece film. Celebrating its 10th anniversary of showcasing Asian film from around the world, Awff will take place November 13-21, 2024, at The Culver Theater in Culver City, CA.

The nine-day festival will present narrative and documentary motion pictures and short films from 27 countries, including four that premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. More than 30 of the screenings will feature live Q&As with the filmmakers, talent, and crew.

Georges N. Chamchoum, Awff Executive Director, said, “We are very grateful to the filmmakers around the world supporting this year’s line-up with more than 60 narrative and documentary films. The Awff continues to open the window to the region of Asia as well to showcase AsianAmerican talent through our range of programs. I am amazed at...

Exclusive: Fresh from its Terrifier 3 box office success, next-gen entertainment studio Cineverse has acquired English-speaking distribution rights for Mira Shaib’s Lebanese Academy Award entry Arzé.

Cineverse will distribute the film across its wide distribution footprint – including its own streaming channel Fandor – in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

The deal was brokered by the film’s Cairo and L.A.-based executive producer and international rights-holder Ambient Light Films, which has also sold the film to Indonesia (Pt Falcon) and ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery Film & Video Distribution).

Arzé is Shaib’s feature film debut. It is written and produced by Faissal Sam Shaib and Louay Khraish. Zeina Badran at Spotless Mind Films lead produced the film with Ali El Arabi at Ambient Light Films and Tarek Al Naama on board as executive producers.

The drama follows titular single mother Arzé who takes her teenage son on...

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in June ahead of it’s North American premiere at the TribecaFestival. Film Independent Presents a theatrical screening of Arzé (Lebanon’s Official Submission to the Academy Awards) which will be followed an in-person conversation with director Mira Shaib on Friday, November 8th.

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A film touching on serious subjects with lightness and humor, Arzé is a unique concoction. Ostensibly about the many different sectarian communities that make up Beirut, it becomes a heartfelt story about the family dynamic between two middle-aged sisters finding company and solace in each other as they raise a young man–son to one, beloved nephew to the other. All of this is wrapped in a timely contemporary comedy springing from a single incident: the theft of a scooter the family relies on to deliver pies they make and sell.

As director Mira Shaib puts it, “We wanted...

Kicking off Nov. 13, the Asian World Film Festival sports features from 27 countries with its main competition screening 16 films submitted for the international feature Oscar. The festival runs through Nov. 21 at the Culver Theater in Culver City, celebrating its 10th anniversary. More than 30 of the screenings will include Q&As with the filmmakers, talent and crew.

“We are very grateful to the filmmakers around the world supporting this year’s lineup with more than 60 narrative and documentary films,” says Georges N. Chamchoum, Awff executive director, said. “The Awff continues to open the window to the region of Asia as well to showcase Asian-American talent through our range of programs. I am amazed at the depth and breadth of the work on the Awff schedule this year.”

The festival opens with South Korean drama “A Normal Family” and closes with Filipino romantic drama “Hello, Love, Again.” The Centerpiece film is Wong Kar-wai...

Editor’s Note: After its stunning World Premiere at the Beijing International Film Festival in April, Film Independent connected Lebanese filmmakers and Global Media Makers Fellows Mira Shaib and Zeina Badran for an intimate conversation with writer and critic Murtada Elfadl ahead of its North American premiere at the Tribeca Festival.

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A film touching on serious subjects with lightness and humor, Arzé is a unique concoction. Ostensibly about the many different sectarian communities that make up Beirut, it becomes a heartfelt story about the family dynamic between two middle-aged sisters finding company and solace in each other as they raise a young man–son to one, beloved nephew to the other. All of this is wrapped in a timely contemporary comedy springing from a single incident: the theft of a scooter the family relies on to deliver pies they make and sell.

As director Mira Shaib puts it, “We wanted...

The new fund gives production and post-production support to Arab world cinema projects.

Lebanese director Ely Dagher’s Beirut-set drama The Sea Ahead and Jordanian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam’s debut feature Farha are among the first 14 recipients of the Red Sea International Film Festival’s $14m fund.

Starring French-Lebanese actress Manal Issa as a young woman who returns to Beirut after many years of absence, The Sea Ahead world premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight earlier this year. It was Dagher’s first feature after Waves ’98, which won the Cannes Palme D’Or for best short film in 2015.

Farha will...

Saudi Arabia’s nascent Red Sea International Film Festival has revealed 14 Arabic feature films selected to receive production and post-production funding from its Red Sea Fund.

The announcement was made at the Venice Film Festival where the Red Sea festival and Saudi Arabia’s fledgling film industry have a substantial presence.

Among the beneficiaries of the fund are Jordanian writer and director Darin J. Sallam’s Toronto Film Festival-bound “Farha,” the story of 14-year-old girl Farha in Palestine in 1948, who watches from a locked pantry as catastrophe consumes her home, and Lebanese director Ely Dagher’s “The Sea Ahead,” that recently launched from the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

The announced grants for pics coming from Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, Iraq, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, mark the first round of funding from the deep-pocketed fund that in June announced a $10 million pot, which then during Cannes, in July, was increased to $14 million,...

Italy’s Picomedia & Russia’s WeiT Partner For ‘Kurgan’

Italian scripted producer Picomedia, part of Asacha Media Group, and Russian producer WeiTMedia, part of Banijay, have partnered to co-produce six-part drama series Kurgan. Based on true events in 1982, the show begins in Northern Italy, where a 14-year-old boy in an affluent Italian family has a medical condition that no doctor in his country can treat. Bullied at school and desperate to fit in, he learns of a pioneering treatment by a Russian orthopaedic surgeon, Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov, in the city of Kurgan, Siberia. Co-written by Russian and Italian scriptwriters, the 6×60 minutes series will be produced in both languages with an Italian female lead and Russian male counterpart.

Yo-yo Champion Joins ‘The Sweepers’

Exclusive: Yo-yo world champions Gentry Stein has joined Michael Matteo Rossi’s upcoming action film The Sweepers; the project will mark Stein’s acting debut. The film also...