The 17th edition of Middle East Now came to an end: a successful, eclectic festival that breaks down clichés through dialogue and empathy.
Packed screening rooms, numerous sold-out shows at Cinema La Compagnia and Cinema Astra, and extraordinary city-wide participation.
The Audience Award went to the Egyptian family saga The Stories by Abu Bakr Shawky
The 17th of Middle East Now — under the artistic direction of Lisa Chiari and Roberto Ruta — has concluded with great success among both audiences and critics. The event, which officially launched the “50 Days of Cinema in Florence” season, saw high and consistent attendance, filling the auditoriums at Cinema La Compagnia and Cinema Astra and selling out many key program events.
The unifying theme of this edition was “RADICAL MOVEMENTS,” interpreted not merely as a subject focus but as a genuine curatorial approach. Through an eclectic lineup of 33 films, documentaries, exhibitions, performances, current affairs talks, and intercultural workshops, the festival transcended the boundaries of traditional cinematic storytelling to become a multidisciplinary platform.
“Cinema and the visual arts possess the extraordinary power to dismantle the one-dimensional narratives to which we are accustomed,” state artistic directors Lisa Chiari and Roberto Ruta. “For this seventeenth edition, we once again sought to offer a complex, intimate, and human perspective. The festival proved to be a collective journey in which visual art, geopolitical insight, theater, and the sharing of food intertwined to forge deep, empathetic connections—connections that are more essential than ever in the unstable times we are currently navigating.”
THE WINNERS OF THE 17TH EDITION
_ AUDIENCE AWARD – The award for the best film voted by the audience:
THE STORIES by Abu Bakr Shawky (Egypt, Austria, Sweden, 2025, 115’)
A cinematic portrait spanning twenty years of Egyptian history, centering on Ahmed—a young man of humble origins with immense piano talent—who forms an unbreakable bond with Liz, a girl who answered his ad for a pen pal. A sweeping love letter to music, resilience, and that one extraordinary person capable of changing our lives forever.
_ IRAN – AFGHANISTAN CINEMA AWARD 2026
Felicetta Ferraro Award for Best Feature Film/Documentary from Iran:
WRITING HAWA by Najiba Noori (Afghanistan, Qatar, France, Netherlands, 2024, 84’)
Jury Statement: “The Award for Best Film from Iran and Afghanistan goes to WRITING HAWA for portraying emancipation as a daily, tenacious, and revolutionary act. We follow Hawa’s story through the intimate gaze of a daughter filming her mother and niece; later, after leaving for France, she passes the camera to her brother, who continues filming amidst countless hardships and dangers. Hawa seeks no one’s pity; she wants to learn to read and write, sell her clothes, and ensure a different future for her niece. Hawa does not merely sew garments; she stitches dignity back together, doing so even as everything around her is on the verge of collapse once more. Filmed over the course of five years, Writing Hawa tells the story of three generations of Hazara women from the same family in Afghanistan. For its courage and sensitivity—qualities that transform into a political act—this documentary stands as an archive of resistance and essential testimony.”
_ Middle East Now STAFF AWARD 2026
for Best Short or Medium-Length film awarded by the Festival Staff
QAHER by Nada Khalifa (Poland, Palestine, Egypt, 2025, 20’)
Jury Statement: “This short film touches upon a multitude of themes while successfully capturing their subtle and profound aspects. It begins with the title, *Qaher*—a word untranslatable into Italian that describes a pain born of powerlessness, injustice, and dehumanization; feelings that simmer beneath the surface for a long time, seeming almost impossible to articulate or release. The film depicts this dehumanizing oppression—specifically within the Palestinian context—without erasing the people’s identity, which emerges with candor through bold flights of imagination, emotion, and irony.”
_ Best OFF Award 2026
For Best Auteur Short Film, awarded in collaboration with OFF Cinema:
KENTUCKY GAZA by Omar Rammal (Jordan, 2026, 21’)
Jury Statement: “Gaza, before October 7th. Three young men launch an unexpected venture: smuggling KFC fried chicken through the tunnels connecting Gaza to Egypt. Their success story speaks to ingenuity, resourcefulness, and an unflagging desire for a normal life. The tunnels—usually associated in the collective imagination with arms smuggling—here become instruments of a longing for normalcy, while Western fast food symbolizes the desire to live just like everyone else. The ending, set on October 7th, delivers a final lesson: the possibility of a normal life, swept away by the impending catastrophe.”
_ Best OFF Special Mention
MEMORIES OF A WINDOW by Mehraneh Salimian and Amin Pakparvar (Iran, 2026, 19’)
Jury Statement: “What does it mean to study cinema in an increasingly authoritarian context? What does it mean to learn to frame shots, make editorial choices, and decide what and how to film—when documenting reality puts one’s own life at risk? This special mention goes to a film that makes us, the audience, accomplices to and witnesses of the resistance, creativity, and solidarity of Iranian youth. It is a film that pays tribute to Shirin Alizadeh—killed while documenting the Iranian government’s crackdown on protests—but it is also a collective voice of young people determined not to stop speaking out, filming, and responding to the deafening silence of state violence.”
_ MIDDLE EAST NOW 2026 SPECIAL MENTION, awarded by the festival to
WOMEN OF REVOLUTION by Mina Akbari (Iran, Germany, 2026, 98’)
Jury Statement: “Mina Akbari’s documentary is an extraordinary, intimate, and powerful testament to the crucial role Iranian women play as true forces of change. We were deeply honored to host the film’s premiere in Florence: Mina Akbari touched the hearts of our audience, offering a profound and necessary understanding of the countless battles women in Iran fight every day—in public squares, within institutions, and in the silence of their private lives. With admirable openness and determination, this film restores a vibrant and authentic voice to them. It is a commendable and essential work; we hope it travels widely and finds the space it deserves on screens everywhere.”
Lisa Chiari and Roberto Ruta, Artistic Directors, Middle East Now Festival