From 04/26/2026 To 05/02/2026
To Gabes,
The eighth edition of Gabès Cinéma Fen, which will be held from April 26 to May 2, 2026, offers a rich and varied program, celebrating the image as an act of resistance and resilience.
Arab cinema occupies a prominent place with a selection of eight films, including five fiction and three documentaries. In « The President’s Cake » by Iraqi Hassan Hadi, the story adopts an apparent simplicity to better reveal, at the level of a child, the absurdity of a system where everyday life becomes a test and where innocence clashes with the violence of reality. With « All That’s Left of You » by Palestinian Cherien Dabis, narrative tension reaches an almost unsustainable threshold, moving cinema to a fragile ethical zone. The image crosses « Exile » by Tunisian Mehdi Hmili, where hearts end up rusting, just like « Yunan » by Syrian Ameer Fakher Eldin, where the landscape itself bears the traces of a dislocated world. In Un monde fragile et merveilleux by Lebanese Cyril Aris, the fiction traces the history of Lebanon through a romantic relationship that unfolds over three decades.
Three documentaries complete this selection. « Khartum », carried by five directors, offers another reading of the Sudanese capital through the animated dreams of its inhabitants, defying a civil war that is stramed. In « With Hassan in Gaza » by Palestinian Kamal Aljafari, the image is taken up, questioned, deconstructed, as if seeing was no longer enough, as if we now had to learn to look. With « Souraya Mon Amour » by Lebanese Nicolas Khoury, it becomes a space of reminiscence, woven of archives and correspondence, where absence continues to dialogue with the present.
In the Cinéma Monde section, three films are proposed: the fiction « Oh! What Happy Days » by Iranian Homayoun Ghanizadeh, as well as the documentaries « Afternoons of Solitude » by the Spaniard Albert Serra and « Memory » by Vlalena Sandu. Three works where the image shakes up the real and the imaginary to better challenge.
The Film Installation section presents the documentary Qui vit encore by Nicolas Wadimoff, where the image, in all its forms, archives, resists and persists through the voices of the Gazans, where everything tends to disappear.
When it comes to short films, this edition highlights the look of the new generation of filmmakers from different backgrounds: « L’mina » by Randa Maroufi, Je suis contente que tu suis mort maintenant by Tawfeek Barhom, « Space-invaders.exe » by Malaz Usta, « Ali » by Adnan Al Rajeev, Baadrane by Samah El Kadi, « Le Fardeau des ailes » by Rami Jarboui, « Perishable Idol » by Majd Al Remaihi and « La Dernière Récolte » by Miranda Nuno.
The « Retrospective » section pays tribute to filmmaker Oliver Laxe through a selection of his films accompanied by a masterclass. A special session is also devoted to « The Voice of Hind Rajab » by Kaouther Ben Hania, followed by a meeting with the director.
In Ciné-classiques, the programming designed by Hend Sabri, godmother of the festival, invites us to consider the past as an active memory, in constant dialogue with the present. This section pays tribute to Fadhel Jaziri through the Arabic premiere of the restored version of The Wedgg, as well as to filmmaker Ali Badrakhan with his film Shafiqa and Metwalli.
Ciné-Promesse highlights the emerging views of four young Tunisian filmmakers: « A la lumière » by Dali Jannedi, « The Light That Remains » by Youssef Guermazi, « Pierre-feuille-ciseaux » by Cherifa Benouda and « Al Bacouss » by Med Amine Khader.
As with every edition, Ciné-Terre highlights contemporary ecological issues with « The Fin » by Korean Syeyoung Park and « Accusions » by Canadians Mériol Lehmann and Philippe Allard.
Finally, the youngest find their place in Ciné-Kid’z with two films on display: « Hola Frida » by André Kadi and Karine Vézina, as well as the manga « Maruko ».
