The SAFAR Film Festival is the largest festival in the UK dedicated to cinema from the Arab world. Founded in 2012, SAFAR showcases the broad spectrum of film from the region by working with curators on themed programmes and inviting filmmakers for live Q&As and events.
Ciné Lumière presents a compelling line-up of films that celebrate both the new and the enduring legacies of Arab cinema. Opening with the UK premiere of the newly restored Watch Out for Zouzou; a beloved 1970s Egyptian musical brimming with wit, romance, and cultural tension, the programme journeys through striking contemporary works and visionary debuts.
Red Path offers a chilling, powerful reflection on trauma and survival in post-revolution Tunisia, while Across the Sea traces a decade of migration, identity and longing between Morocco and Marseille.
The Brink of Dreams intimately follows young Coptic women using theatre as a tool for resistance and self-expression in rural Egypt.
Also screening is Phantom Beirut, a newly restored version of Ghassan Salhab’s modern classic, a haunting hybrid of fiction and documentary that confronts memory, disappearance, and post-war silence in Lebanon. These films offer a rich, multi-layered portrait of the Arab world across generations and genres.
SAFAR Film Festival 2025 runs from 11-28 June with screenings in London, in 9 other cities across the UK and online. It is organised by the Arab British Centre and is supported by the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery, the British Council, the Bagri Foundation, the Asfari Foundation, the City of London Corporation and Barjeel Art Foundation. Presented in partnership with Shubbak Festival.
