Cinema and the Arab World
On these pages you will find a range of services of free-lance author, curator and scholar Irit Neidhardt in the field of Cinema and the Arab World. For requests, please contact me at the address below.
I deal with questions of production, presentation and reception of films with regards to aspects of Arab societies and politics, the European gaze on its neighboring region in the southern and eastern Mediterranean as well as facets of European-Arab cooperation, including historical periods of Arab filmmaking in Germany.
This includes subjects as the cooperation of both German States with the Palestinian Liberation Organization PLO in the 1970s and 1980s; the genre of the music video which is very popular in the Arab World; the critical-analytical examination of European funding of Arab movies; Arab women films from the years before the uprisings that started in Tunisia in 2010 or the question about the origin of the images we see from and about the war in Syria.
Since 2012 I have been compiling the Funding Guide for Arab Filmmakers and Producers on behalf of Aflamuna (formerly Beirut DC) which is by now accessible online.
To get a more precise idea about my services with regard to
- curating of film programs
- lectures and film talks
- workshops and tutorials
- panel discussions
- moderations
- publications
you are invited to browse around this homepage. In each section you will find examples and references to previous activities.
Learn about mec film, the distribution and sales company for films by Arab directors which I run or find information about me.
Masterclass
The History of Arab–German Cooperation in Film
Monday, 22 September 2025, 12:30-2:00h, Society for Arts (Ministry of Culture, Sports & Youth), Muscat, Oman
This workshop introduces participants to the rich but often overlooked history of Arab-German cinematic exchange. Starting with the early 20th century, when Arab film pioneers came to Berlin to learn and collaborate, the session explores how Arab and German professionals shaped each other’s work, from silent cinema through the first Arab sound films. With film clips, photos, and historical documents, Neidhardt will highlight Berlin as a crossroads of Arab cinematic history and discuss how these collaborations are remembered today and why they still matter. (In the framework of the European Film Festival Oman, organized by the Goethe Institute and the German Embassy.)
Workshop
Coproduction and Cooperation between Germany and the Arab World
Tuesday, 23 September 2025, 2:00 – 4:00 PM, Cinépolis, Avenue Mall, Muscat, Oman
Focusing on the period from the post-war era until today, this workshop examines Arab-German cooperation in film within different political contexts—from the GDR’s institutional support to the Federal Republic’s co-productions with independent filmmakers, and later the evolving role of EU funding. Using examples from Palestinian cinema and beyond, Neidhardt will illustrate how political systems shaped film financing, storytelling, and audience reception. The session also looks at the role of the Arab diaspora in Germany and the continuing impact of these collaborations on contemporary Arab cinema. (In the framework of the European Film Festival Oman, organized by the Goethe Institute and the German Embassy.)
Text
Palestinian Films in German Distribution. In: black box. Filmpolitischer Informationsdienst Nr. 328, July/August 2025, p. 7. PDF (in German)
Previous entries were moved to the News Archive.