SOURA FILM FEST

Queer Middle East & North African Film Festival

October 1 - 4, 2020

Berlin

The Festival

Soura Film Fest is a queer film festival focused on the Middle East and North Africa region.

Soura—which means ‘image’ in Arabic, is about sharing a vision of life that is joyful, poignant, defiant and unique.

Our mission is to create a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQI+ filmmakers who are often shunned or persecuted in their home countries - their stories too often suppressed or censored. We believe it is essential that these voices be heard and these visions shared.

The festival is based in Berlin, which has been called, perhaps somewhat ironically, the new cultural centre of the Arab world. What is true is that this great melting pot is home to exiles and expats from across the MENA region, drawn here by the freedom to share, create and be.

Soura Film Fest aims to step across borders and set aside political conflicts, to weave together those threads that connect queer experience throughout the vibrant and complex MENA region.

Submit your film

Soura Film Fest is currently accepting entries for its second edition in Berlin.

Films from other countries not included in the MENA region can also participate as long as their stories resonate with the region.

Regulations

The film must be of LGBTQI interest or depict LGBTQI characters.
If the original language of the film is not English, the film must have English subtitles.
Submitted films must be from 2018 - 2020.
Each entered work must be accompanied by its own entry form and by a separate screening link.
Filmmakers wishing to submit rough cuts for consideration must clearly note that the film is a rough cut, and must supply the completed film before acceptance can be finalized.
We give preference to films that were not premiered commercially in Berlin.

MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries:

Yemen

UAE

Tunisia

Syria

Saudi Arabia

Qatar

Palestine

Oman

Morocco

Libya

Lebanon