Toronto Arab Film came back with their 6th annual film festival 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 their selection was vast and inspiring.

From sci-fi, comedy, drama, and surreal stories, these films highlighted the breadth of talent in filmmaking across the Arab worlds. We’ve put together a highlight with the films we enjoyed the most this festival.

Perfumed with Mint

The top film for me this year was “Perfumed with Mint” which made its North American premiere at TIFF last year. A surreal story about a dystopian, eerily deserted Cairo where residents are being hunted by shadowy figures. Amidst the chaos, people are sprouting mint from their bodies and the only way to slow this growth is by numbing their senses with weed. As you’ve already guessed, this is all a metaphor. Loss and lost dreams, ambitions, aspirations, and goals of youth being stifled by the social and political landscape of modern day Egypt. Beautifully shot, the cinematography and colours of this film captivate you while the melancholia and difficult scenes hold you in discomfort, engaging the audience in dialog.

Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo

An emotional journey that, at it’s core, is about a man refusing to let go of his best friend: his dog Rambo. On a broader scale, it’s a man battling inequality and mistreatment his family is facing due to their dire financial situation. His quest to save Rambo highlights the societal and class disparity in Egyptian society, and how those with power and money can abuse as they please.

Mobius Loop

It’s quite special seeing Arabs in a sci-fi story. Having them be at the forefront of the story is something quite rare. In “Mobius Loop,” we see an Arab scientist who discovers a way to move consciousness through time, but fails to get funding to continue his research. Years later, his granddaughter finds his old tapes and dives into her family’s past and his science. But will she be able to perfect it? A story that at it’s core is about family and connecting over generations.

Mawtini

Connecting indigenous struggles across the world. A young Palestinian woman and an older Indigenous woman start a guerrilla garden on the lawn of their apartment building. Bringing a piece of Palestine, they plant a sapling of her grandmother’s tree among other crops. The bond over the plants and their people’s shared struggles as they battle middle management to make it to harvest.

I Lay For You to Sleep

After a fatal accident, a young man’s soul drifts around his loved ones while they grieve his loss. A quiet, raw exploration of grief that’s so beautifully shot. What this film lacks in dialog, it delivers with the cinematography.

For more films from the Arab world, make sure you follow Toronto Arab Film as they screen films all year round.