The 2026 Toronto Arab Film Festival is back with it’s seventh edition this summer, bringing Arab cinema to Toronto audiences. A non-profit organisation, they aim to address the lack of Arab representation in Toronto film programming. This year they’re showcasing 24 feature and short films from 22 countries around the world.

Toronto Arab Film Festival is running July 24th to August 1st. We’ve put together a highlight with 10 films to check out this festival.

The Stories (Opening Feature)

Egypt. Summer 1967. Ahmed receives a letter from Austria – Liz has replied to his search for a pen pal. They begin a long-distance friendship that is viewed with suspicion by his relatives. From this summer onwards, Ahmed’s efforts to become a pianist despite his humble social background will gain an unstoppable momentum. Meanwhile Liz pushes him towards his elusive goal: a public concert. Together, Ahmed and Liz will live through war, family joys, opposition and dramas, failures and triumphs that rocked Egypt until the 1980s.

Beneath Which Rivers Flow (Short)

In the marshlands of Southern Iraq, Ibrahim and his family live in solitude as strangers to the outside world. Their lives tethered to the river, the reeds, and the buffalo they tend. Silent and withdrawn, Ibrahim finds comfort only in his buffalo, his sole companion. But as the rivers dry and the landscape withers, Ibrahim faces unrelenting forces threatening the only life he has ever known, and the only creature he has ever understood.

Hijra

Twelve-year-old Janna sets off for Mecca with her strict grandmother, Sitti, and rebellious sister, Sarah, to perform Hajj. But before they reach their destination, Sarah vanishes. Fearing her father will find out, Sitti and Janna go on a tense, urgent search, desperate to uncover why Sarah disappeared. Their journey spans Saudi Arabia, crossing old pilgrimage routes and confronting strangers, harsh landscapes, and long-buried family secrets. As they grow closer, Janna begins to unravel stories from Sitti’s rich and complex past. As their difficult journey begins to echo the spiritual trials of Hajj, Janna and Sitti may find something greater than reconciliation — redemption.

My Brother, My Brother (Short)

An autofiction animation film that explores the complexities of a past shared by two identical twins: Omar and Wesam. A split narrative retells the two sides of their memories. From the instant they were fused together in their mother’s womb to the moment they are parted by the tragic death of one of them. Tied together by the twins’ confusion about their existence, a fragmented world of memories and dreams emerges. Blurring the lines between reality and fiction, present and past, Omar and Wesam.

Nader’s Girl (Short)

Based on a short story by Saeed Teebi, Nader’s Girl follows Nader, a Palestinian international student looking for friendship in a new country. Hoping to fit in with his exploitative roommates, Nader invents a girlfriend named “Cynthia”, who gradually becomes a warped projection of Nader’s insecurities as a foreigner. As fantasy and reality blur, he must decide whether to end the illusion or keep clinging to the only ‘person’ who values him.

Sink

When her teenage son, in his final year of school, is suspended after a troubling outburst, his mother, Nadia, is determined to help him, convincing herself he just needs guidance. But as Basil’s mental state slowly unravels, she ignores the warning signs, sinking deeper into denial as disaster approaches.

Better Than a Mustache (Short)

A shawarma courier quietly pines over his enigmatic boss, until a grieving customer snaps him out of his spiral.

In Toronto’s east end, a soft-spoken Arab delivery guy named Fadi pedals shawarma across the city while quietly nursing a crush on his tough, enigmatic boss, Dima. When Fadi delivers a peculiar order to Wayne, a grieving widower with a broken ceiling fan and a heart full of regret, the two form an unlikely bond. What follows is a surreal, tender, and absurd journey through grief, masculinity, and shawarma. As Wayne rediscovers his joy through coincidence and skinny-dipping, and Dima confronts the traumas stitched into her bold leadership, Fadi must decide whether to remain a bystander in his life or take a leap. Better than a Mustache is a story about letting go for the sake of one’s authenticity.

Prisoner (Short)

Prisoner follows Adam, a 12-year-old refugee, confronting the unsettling reality of his father Saeed’s past as a political prisoner. Set against a backdrop of intergenerational trauma, the story reveals the psychological toll that Saeed’s imprisonment has left on their family. As Adam observes his father’s PTSD and mental health struggles, he gradually understands that the tales Saeed once recounted with humour were filled with suffering. Through Adam’s journey, the film examines the inherited weight of political trauma and its desensitizing impact on children in displaced families.

Tiɣrist: Threads of Exile (Short)

Drawing inspiration from traditional weaving techniques, oral storytelling, and contemporary modes of production. Tiɣrist – Threads of exile invites reflection on textile as a language of resistance and a vessel of memory – a sensitive archive.

The Silence They Taught Us

An autobiographical documentary short following Paula, a Palestinian-Canadian professional in Toronto, as she confronts the cost of silence in the face of anti-Palestinian racism. The film explores the systematic suppression and backlash faced by Palestinians and their allies in Canada. Revealing how an environment of fear has been cultivated to silence voices, particularly in professional spaces, with the threat of lost livelihoods weaponized against Palestinians in exchange for silence and compliance.

Find the full festival programming and tickets on the Toronto Arab Films website. And check out our review of last year’s films.