Arabic Cinema
by shuusvampe | created - 10 Apr 2020 | updated - 10 Oct 2022 | PublicFeaturing Arabic and Persian language films, gems from the Middle East
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1. Screwdriver (2018)
108 min | Drama
Palestinian director Bassam Jarbawi's debut feature film tackles the physical and emotional toll of one man's return home after 15 years in an Israeli jail.
Director: Bassam Jarbawi | Stars: Ziad Bakri, Areen Omari, Jameel Khoury, Yasmine Qaddumi
Votes: 294
2. Wajma, an Afghan Love Story (2013)
Not Rated | 85 min | Drama
It's snowing in Kabul, and gregarious waiter Mustafa charms a pretty student named Wajma. The pair begins a clandestine relationship - they're playful and passionate but ever mindful of the... See full summary »
Director: Barmak Akram | Stars: Wajma Bahar, Mustafa Abdulsatar, Haji Gul Aser, Brehna Bahar
Votes: 466
3. The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Not Rated | 121 min | Drama, War
In the 1950s, fear and violence escalate as the people of Algiers fight for independence from the French government.
Director: Gillo Pontecorvo | Stars: Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi, Samia Kerbash
Votes: 65,626 | Gross: $0.06M
4. Asmaa (2011)
96 min | Drama
A woman who suffers from AIDS decides not to surrender to the fatal disease. She exerts huge efforts in trying to recover or by helping those who suffer the same disease by giving them glimmers of hope.
Director: Amr Salama | Stars: Hind Sabri, Maged El-Kidwani, Hany Adel, Dana Abed
Votes: 4,829
5. Excuse My French (2014)
Not Rated | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
A Christian kid suddenly is forced to go to a public school after his father dies and because of a misunderstanding everyone thinks that he's a Muslim.
Directors: Amr Salama, Rami Gheit | Stars: Ahmad Dash, Ahmed Helmy, Kinda Alloush, Hany Adel
Votes: 4,978
6. 18 Days (2011)
Not Rated | 125 min | Comedy, Drama
Ten separate stories about the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
Directors: Ahmed Abdullah, Kamla Abouzekri, Maryam Abu-Of, Kamlah Abu-Zikri, Ahmad Alaa, Ahmad Alaa Aldeeb, Mohamed Ali, Sherif Arafa, Sherif Arafa, Sherif El Bendary, Ahmad Ala El-Dib, Sherif Elbendary, Marwan Hamed, Khaled Marei, Yousry Nasrallah, Mariam Abu Ouf, Kamla Abu Zekry, Ahmad Abdalla | Stars: Ahmed Helmy, Amr Waked, Mona Zaki, Asser Yassin
Votes: 1,534
7. Diamond Dust (2018)
162 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A man who works in a pharmacy as a part time job to aid his financial status finds out that his father has been exterminated by a savage brute and sought to avenge him, then unlocks a whole melancholic world of crime!
Director: Marwan Hamed | Stars: Rosaline Elbay, Asser Yassin, Tara Emad, Menna Shalabi
Votes: 5,795
8. The Blue Elephant 2 (2019)
130 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A meeting with a new inmate in the psychiatric hospital flips Dr. Yehia's life upside down, he prophesies that the death of his entire family is only three days away.
Director: Marwan Hamed | Stars: Karim Abdel Aziz, Nilli Karim, Hind Sabri, Eyad Nassar
Votes: 11,000
9. The Blue Elephant (2014)
Not Rated | 170 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
While trying to help an inmate at the mental hospital, a psychotherapist unravels mysteries he never thought existed.
Director: Marwan Hamed | Stars: Karim Abdel Aziz, Khaled El-Sawi, Nilli Karim, Mohamed Mamdouh
Votes: 29,814
10. Escaping Tel Aviv (2009)
119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An Egyptian woman discovers that her husband is in fact a Jewish Mossad agent working for Israel. He takes her and their two children to Israel by force and tries to convince her to live ... See full summary »
Director: Sherif Arafa | Stars: Sherif Mounir, Karim Abdel Aziz, Mona Zaki, Kinda Alloush
Votes: 6,188
11. Wahed men el nas (2007)
109 min | Drama
Mahmoud (Karim Abdel Aziz), is a poor but a hard working parking attendant who lives a happy and calm life with his father and wife Mona (Menna Shalaby) who is pregnant in their first baby ... See full summary »
Director: Ahmad Nader Galal | Stars: Karim Abdel Aziz, Ahmed Anan, Suliman Eid, Mahmood El-Gindi
Votes: 3,552
12. Mosul (I) (2019)
TV-MA | 101 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A police unit from Mosul fight to liberate the Iraqi city from thousands of ISIS militants.
Director: Matthew Michael Carnahan | Stars: Waleed Elgadi, Suhail Dabbach, Adam Bessa, Is'haq Elias
Votes: 30,422
13. For Sama (2019)
TV-PG | 100 min | Documentary, Biography, War
FOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war.
Directors: Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts | Stars: Waad Al-Kateab, Sama Al-Khateab, Hamza Al-Khateab, Afra
Votes: 12,813 | Gross: $0.04M
14. The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020)
104 min | Drama
His own body turned into a living work of art and promptly exhibited in a museum, Sam, a Syrian refugee, will soon realize to have sold away more than just his skin.
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania | Stars: Yahya Mahayni, Dea Liane, Koen De Bouw, Darina Al Joundi
Votes: 7,097
15. Wanted - Matloubin (2019)
90 min | Comedy, Drama
Wanted is a very human comedy about four old people who run away from a nursing home in the name of love and solidarity.
Director: Nebal Araqji | Stars: Dori Al-Samarani, Walid Arakji, Toni Barood, Badih Bou Chakra
Votes: 642
16. The Silences of the Palace (1994)
116 min | Drama
As she grows up, Alia (the daughter of housemaid Khedija) learns the secrets of the peaceful palace where she and her mother live.
Director: Moufida Tlatli | Stars: Hind Sabri, Ghalya Lacroix, Nejia Ouerghi, Amel Hedhili
Votes: 1,106
17. The Mummy (1969)
102 min | Drama
An Upper-Egyptian clan robs a cache of mummies and sells the artifacts on the illicit antiquities black market. After a conflict within the clan, one of its members goes to the police, helping the Antiquities Service find the cache.
Director: Chadi Abdel Salam | Stars: Ahmed Marei, Ahmad Hegazi, Nadia Lutfi, Mohamed Abdel Rahman
Votes: 1,853
18. The Land (1970)
130 min | Drama
A small peasant village's struggles against the careless inroads of the large local landowner. The Land shows why political oppression does not necessarily lead to a sense of solidarity among the disinherited.
Director: Youssef Chahine | Stars: Mahmoud Al Meleji, Nagwa Ibrahim, Ezzat El Alaili, Hamdy Ahmed
Votes: 2,443
19. Return of the Prodigal Son (1978)
120 min | Crime, Drama, Musical
Freed after spending 12 years in jail, a man's homecoming turns into a dark affair as his disillusion clashes with his family expectations.
Directors: Youssef Chahine, Farouk Beloufa | Stars: Mahmoud Al Meleji, Huda Sultan, Shukri Sarhan, Soheir El-Morshidy
Votes: 954
20. Alexandria... Why? (1979)
Not Rated | 133 min | Drama
Yehia is a young man living in the cosmopolitan Alexandria during World War II. Inspired by American movies and Shakespeare, he aspires to be an actor, but struggles to pursue his Hollywood... See full summary »
Director: Youssef Chahine | Stars: Naglaa Fathi, Ahmed Zaki, Farid Shawqi, Mahmoud Al Meleji
Votes: 2,039
21. The Choice (1971)
103 min | Drama, Mystery
Mysterious murder occurs in Cairo, the body was founded two months later. In the Pocket a picture of the victim "Mahmoud". The victim is a twin brother to the Highly famous writer "Sayed" ... See full summary »
Director: Youssef Chahine | Stars: Suad Husni, Ezzat El Alaili, Seif Abdelrahman, Huda Sultan
Votes: 435
22. Karnak Café (1975)
143 min | Drama
In Egypt, a group of university students were arrested without comitting a crime because of their meetings at the cafe "Karnak", which was known for hosting some thinkers who sometimes criticize the 1952 revolution.
Director: Ali Badr Khan | Stars: Farid Shawqi, Suad Husni, Nour El-Sherif, Salah Zulfikar
Votes: 743
23. The Wife of an Important Man (1987)
115 min | Drama
When Mona marries the seemingly decent police officer Hisham, she finds out there is more into him than what he shows to the people.
Director: Mohamed Khan | Stars: Mervat Amin, Ahmed Zaki, Abdel Halim Hafez, Zizi Mustafa
Votes: 1,787
24. The High (1985)
118 min | Comedy, Drama
As ethics is degraded in the Egyptian society; a chemist deceive his punk brother with a nonnarcotic drug that he created to prove that it's all delusional. So the punk tries to convince him to produce the substance for a greedy drug lord.
Director: Ali Abdel-Khalek | Stars: Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Noura, Yehia El-Fakharany, Zeinab Abdo
Votes: 2,471
25. Kit Kat (1991)
129 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Sheikh Hosny is a blind man who lives with his old mother and his frustrated son in the Kit Kat neighborhood. His son Youssef dreams of going to Europe to find work, and has a relationship ... See full summary »
Director: Daoud Abdel Sayed | Stars: Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Sherif Mounir, Aida Riyad, Nagah El-Mogui
Votes: 2,680
26. The Second Wife (1967)
105 min | Drama
A corrupt mayor, who rules the village's people with power and injustice, forces another poor man's wife secretly to marry him in order to have a child.
Director: Salah Abouseif | Stars: Suad Husni, Shukri Sarhan, Sanaa Gameel, Salah Mansour
Votes: 958
27. The Beginning and the End (1960)
130 min | Drama
After the death of the father, the family consisting of a mother and two young men and a girl themselves without a breadwinner finds, to begin each of them in the direction to a different ... See full summary »
Director: Salah Abouseif | Stars: Farid Shawqi, Omar Sharif, Aminah Rizq, Amal Zayed
Votes: 690
28. The Flirtation of Girls (1949)
120 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
In this classic musical, poor old Hamam, a modest arabic teacher, falls in love with the young and beautiful Laila, his aristocratic pupil. Soon, he must decide between his unrealistic feelings or sacrificing his love for her own good.
Director: Anwar Wagdi | Stars: Nagib El-Rihani, Laila Mourad, Anwar Wagdi, Mahmoud Al Meleji
Votes: 582
29. Salama fi khair (1937)
105 min | Comedy
Eastern prince get a poor man to take his place to discover the real love.
Director: Niazi Mostafa | Stars: Nagib El-Rihani, Husain Reyadh, Ibrahim Al Jazzar, Safa Al-Jamil
Votes: 333
30. Doa al karawan (1959)
109 min | Drama, Romance
This compelling tale of love and betrayal, set in the upper Egyptian countryside, follows the story of Amna as she plots her revenge on the engineer who destroyed her family's honor.
Director: Henry Barakat | Stars: Faten Hamamah, Ahmad Mazhar, Aminah Rizq, Zahrat El-Ula
Votes: 1,970
31. El bab el maftuh (1963)
104 min | Drama, Romance
Elbab Elmaftouh, Known in English as "The Open Door", another great movie about women's right in their different role and life and thier struggle between her father with his old style and her husband that doesn't understand her.
Director: Henry Barakat | Stars: Faten Hamamah, Mahmoud Moursy, Saleh Selim, Shouweikar
Votes: 425
32. Cairo Station (1958)
Not Rated | 77 min | Crime, Drama
A newspaper salesman at the train station in Cairo develops an unhealthy obsession with a woman who sells refreshments.
Director: Youssef Chahine | Stars: Farid Shawqi, Hind Rustum, Youssef Chahine, Hassan el Baroudi
Votes: 5,350
33. The Blazing Sun (1954)
TV-14 | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A rich landlord floods and destroys a village on purpose to prevent the people living there from making a profit off their crops. What he doesn't know is that his own daughter is in love with Ahmed, a young man from the village.
Director: Youssef Chahine | Stars: Faten Hamamah, Omar Sharif, Zaki Rostom, Farid Shawqi
Votes: 1,555
34. Sayedat el kasr (1958)
87 min | Comedy, Romance
A chance meeting at an auction brings together Sawsan (Faten Hamama), a working class girl and Adel (Omar Sharif), heir to a vast fortune with several estates to his name. This leads to a ... See full summary »
Director: Kamal El-Shaikh | Stars: Faten Hamamah, Omar Sharif, Zouzou Madi, Umar El-Hariri
Votes: 420
35. Sleepless (1957)
127 min | Drama, Romance
'I Never Sleep' (also called 'Sleepless') is the story of Nadia Lotfi (Faten Hamama), a teenage girl raised by her father after her mother's untimely death. Her lifelong lack of a mother ... See full summary »
Director: Salah Abouseif | Stars: Faten Hamamah, Yehia Chahine, Maryam Fakhruddin, Omar Sharif
Votes: 466
36. Mouths and Rabbits (1977)
120 min | Drama, Romance
A story discussing the society problem during the seventies due to not having any family planning, also covering main issue of differences between poor society and rich society. This film ... See full summary »
Director: Henry Barakat | Stars: Faten Hamamah, Mahmoud Yassine, Farid Shawqi, Ahmed Abaza
Votes: 712
37. Chased by the Dogs (1962)
125 min | Crime, Drama
After four years in prison, the young thief Said Mahran come out of jail & seek revenge against those who betrayed him,his beloved wife and his trusted henchman, who conspired to turn him ... See full summary »
Director: Kamal El-Shaikh | Stars: Shadia, Shukri Sarhan, Kamal El-Shinnawi, Samir Sabri
Votes: 430
38. Shabab emraa (1956)
126 min | Drama
A young man from the country arrives in Cairo to finish his education. His landlady, a widow and successful businesswoman in the quarter of the Citadel, seduces him. Although she teaches ... See full summary »
Directors: Salah Abouseif, Ahmad El-Sabawi, Amin Yousseff Ghurab | Stars: Tahiyyah Karyuka, Shukri Sarhan, Shadia, Abdulwareth Asar
Votes: 575
39. Bit of Fear (1969)
112 min | Drama
Based on Tharwat Abaza's short story, 'Shey min al Khawf' takes place in a rural Egyptian village. Atris' reign of terror on the villagers is put to the test when a public act of defiance ... See full summary »
Director: Hussein Kamal | Stars: Shadia, Mahmoud Moursy, Yehia Chahine, Ahmed Abo Abeya
Votes: 680
40. The Innocent (1986)
110 min | Drama, Thriller
A simple minded peasant was recruited in the Egyptian army where he was deceived to believe that political activists are his homeland enemies, but not for so long.
Director: Atef El-Tayeb | Stars: Ahmed Zaki, Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Mamdouh Abd El Aleem, Ilham Shaheen
Votes: 1,488
41. The Shame (1982)
123 min | Drama
There are hidden aspects of the depths of human beings,So that the doctor appear in the form of the patient's dysfunctional, a man of the law appear in the form of mercenary of the Sacred, ... See full summary »
Director: Ali Abdel-Khalek | Stars: Nour El-Sherif, Hussein Fahmy, Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Ilham Shaheen
Votes: 1,232
42. Gary el-Wuhoosh (1987)
120 min | Drama, Thriller
The story about 3 people : a doctor who tries to treat his rich patient who is infertile by trasnplant ( illegally , to prove his experiments ) part of a brain from a third person who sell it for money to improve his miserable life .
Director: Ali Abdel-Khalek | Stars: Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Naima Al Soghayar, Hafez Amin, Hussein Arar
Votes: 648
43. The Egg and the Stone (1990)
98 min | Comedy, Drama
Mustafa, a philosophy teacher, is fired from his job for being involved in political activities. He decides to use his intelligence and the ignorance of people to become a wealthy sorcerer.
Director: Ali Abdel-Khalek | Stars: Ahmed Zaki, Maali Zayed, Mamdouh Wafi, Fouad Khalil
Votes: 1,103
44. El-Baih el-Bawwab (1987)
119 min | Comedy, Drama
Abdel Samea goes to Egypt with his wife and children looking for a job so he works as a doorman, and by being smart he works as a broker until he makes a lot of money.
Director: Hassan Ibrahim | Stars: Ahmed Zaki, Safia El Emari, Fouad El-Mohandes, Ragaa Al-Gidawy
Votes: 731
45. No Longer Kids (1979 TV Movie)
236 min | Comedy
After discovering that their father is having an affair and planning to escape with a woman , four siblings try their best to stop him.
Director: Samir Al Asfory | Stars: Sa'eed Saleh, Younes Shalaby, Ahmed Zaki, Nadia Shukri
Votes: 1,312
46. Days of El-Sadat (2001)
165 min | Biography, Drama, History
The private and public life of Egyptian president Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat.
Director: Mohamed Khan | Stars: Ahmed Zaki, Mervat Amin, Mona Zaki, Mokhles El Behiry
Votes: 1,757
47. Marti, mudir aam (1966)
110 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Hussein Omar, head of the Projects Department at a construction company, finds himself embroiled in various awkward situations at work when his wife, Esmat Fahmi, is appointed General Manager there.
Director: Fatin Abdulwahhab | Stars: Shadia, Salah Zulfikar, El-Deif Ahmed, Tawfik El Deken
Votes: 760
48. El-Lailah el-Akhirah (1963)
120 min | Mystery, Thriller
Faten Hamama plays a wife who wakes up one morning to discover she is married to her brother-in-law in this suspenseful drama. The confused woman soon learns that fifteen years have gone by... See full summary »
Director: Kamal El-Shaikh | Stars: Faten Hamamah, Ahmad Mazhar, Mahmoud Moursy, Kamal Yaseen
Votes: 326
49. Rumor of Love (1961)
120 min | Comedy, Romance
A father invents a lurid past for his awkward young nephew to present him as an exciting suitor for his daughter.
Director: Fatin Abdulwahhab | Stars: Omar Sharif, Suad Husni, Youssef Wahbi, Ehsan Sherif
Votes: 1,246
50. Fi Baytena Ragul (1961)
159 min | Drama, History, Romance
Based in British occupied Egypt, Ibrahim (Omar Sharif), a member of the resistance, seeks refuge in the house of a politically passive family after killing the prime minister for his acts of treason.
Director: Henry Barakat | Stars: Omar Sharif, Zubida Tharwat, Rushdi Abazah, Zahrat El-Ula
Votes: 1,113
51. The Insult (2017)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After an emotional exchange between a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee escalates, the men end up in a court case that gets national attention.
Director: Ziad Doueiri | Stars: Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Camille Salameh, Diamand Abou Abboud
Votes: 18,070 | Gross: $1.00M
52. Omar (2013)
Not Rated | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A young Palestinian freedom fighter agrees to work as an informant after he's tricked into an admission of guilt by association in the wake of an Israeli soldier's killing.
Director: Hany Abu-Assad | Stars: Adam Bakri, Leem Lubany, Eyad Hourani, Samer Bisharat
Votes: 15,486 | Gross: $0.36M
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