Bay Area Arab Film Festival opens 30th edition with Umm Kulthum film

The 30th Arab Film Festival opened Thursday at San Francisco's AMC Kabuki with El Sett, Marwan Hamed's film about Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum. Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy received the inaugural AFMI Luminary Award for Cultural Impact.

The festival runs through November 14, with screenings across San Francisco and Oakland. Its closing film is Lebanese filmmaker Danielle Arbid's Only Rebels Win at Oakland's Parkway Theater.

Executive director Serge Bakalian said Arab women launched the festival in 1996 because they did not see their stories or families represented on screen. He said authenticity, including self-critical depictions of Arab societies, had become central to its approach.

This year's program includes work from filmmakers across Middle Eastern and North African diasporas, including Sudan, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Kuwait and Palestine.

Sources: Joni Binder, KQED, November 5, 2026; Arab Film and Media Institute's 30th Arab Film Festival program. Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3