The Dublin Arabic Film Festival (DAFF) is hosting a virtual event from December 11 to December 13, 2020, with the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin and the French Embassy both set to show Arabic and French movies.

Five feature length Arab films will be shown on the Festival’s website, while the French Embassy will offer one or two films for free for schools to screen online.

Zahara Moufid and Jim Sheridan established DAFF in 2014 in a bid to allow Irish audiences the opportunity to enjoy some of the best new and classic Arab films ever made.

Legendary, actor Omar Sharif launched the inaugural edition of DAFF in 2014 and was the guest of honour for the duration of the festival.

The Egyptian actor was due to return to Ireland for the 2015 festival but sadly died in the summer of 2015. He was subsequently represented by his eponymous grandson, Omar Sharif Junior.

Other famous faces who have supported the festival over the years have included The Edge, actress Fionnula Flanagan, singer Damien Dempsey and last year’s patron, Liam Cunningham of Game of Thrones fame.

An additional element has been added to this year’s film festival, ‘The Jim Sheridan International Short Film Competition’, created by Zahara Moufid and Jim Sheridan to inspire young filmmakers globally.

Aspiring filmmakers are invited to submit a 20-minute, original short film which explores the themes of Arabic culture, human rights, injustices, immigrant life, displacement, or which helps to create awareness of the plight of underprivileged women and girls.

The competition will consider live action, documentaries, and animation of the aforementioned themes.

Entrants will have their work viewed and judged by distinguished professionals from the film industry, with the last selection of five shorts to be judged by Jim Sheridan, Omar Sharif Jnr and Zahara Moufid.

The short films may be viewed online between January 22 and January 24, 2021 and the winners will be announced on Facebook Live on the eve of the final day.

The overall Short Film Competition winner will win a one-on-one virtual mentoring session with Jim Sheridan and will automatically qualify to screen their work at the Waterford Film Festival in 2021.

“The pandemic has affected all of us in so many ways, life as we know it has changed utterly and I wonder if we will ever be the same," Jim Sheridan, DAFF President said.

"Film has played an essential role for so many people, particularly through the various lockdowns of 2020. The medium of film provides us with an escape mechanism and in these strange times it’s important to be able to escape, even in our minds and even if just for a short time. We felt this year, was particularly important to run the festival.”

Zahara Moufid, DAFF Festival Director, acknowledged the difficulties which Covid-19 have caused within the industry as a whole.

“It’s definitely a challenging year for the film industry and for the arts industry as a whole, however the role of film and its importance for mental health and cultural awareness cannot be underestimated. We will announce the full schedule and programme of films in the coming weeks and are confident that Irish audiences will enjoy the films as much as we did.”

The final film programme for DAFF will be announced shortly and audiences should keep an eye on the Festival’s website and social media for details.

DAFF presented by @DubaiDutyFree sponsored by @Arabirishchambr proud to present our 1st Ever Short Film Competition!
Call For Submissions
For Rules, Details on How to Enter & Full List of Prizes go to https://t.co/2xKo6Bon6O @AhmadRYounis @CBL_Dublin

— DublinArabicFilmFest (@DAFF2020) November 9, 2020