Palestinian director Laila Abbas’ female empowerment drama “Thank You for Banking With Us!” won best film and director at the 9th Critics Awards for Arab Films at an event held on the sidelines of the 78th Cannes Film Festival.
“Thank You for Banking With Us!” tackles the hot button issue of sexist Middle Eastern inheritance rules dictated by Islamic Sharia law, under which a man has a right to take double the share of a woman.
Morocco’s “Everybody Loves Touda,” written by Nabil Ayouch and Maryam Touzani, won the screenplay award, and best actress for Nisrin Erradi.
Adam Bessa won best actor with French-Tunisian film “Ghost Trail.”
The awards highlight the best achievements in Arab filmmaking over the past year, with this year’s winners selected by a panel of 281 film critics from around the world.
The awards are organized by the Arab Cinema Center in collaboration with MAD Solutions, the International Emerging Film Talent Association, and NEFT Emerging Film Talent International Competition.
This year’s winners are:
Best Feature Film
“Thank You for Banking With Us!” Laila Abbas, Palestine
Best Screenplay
“Everybody Loves Touda,” Nabil Ayouch and Maryam Touzani, Morocco
Best Director
Laila Abbas, “Thank You for Banking With Us!,” Palestinian
Best Actress
Nisrin Erradi, “Everybody Loves Touda,” Moroccan
Best Actor
Adam Bessa, “Ghost Trail,” French Tunisian
Best Music
Amin Bouhafa, “Aïcha,” French Tunisian
Best Editing
“Xoftex,” Noaz Deshe and Felipe Guerrero, Romanian-Colombian
Best Cinematography
Mostafa El Kashef, “The Village Next to Paradise,” Egyptian
Best Documentary
“No Other Land,” Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Palestine
Best Short Film
“Upshot,” Maha Haj, Palestine
