15th Annual San Diego Arab Film Festival
March 28, 2026: 5:15 PM
April 17, 2026: 5:45 PM
April 18, 2026: 5:15 PM
April 19, 2026: 3:50 PM
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The San Diego Arab Film Festival is back for 2026 with live, in-person presentations of feature length and short films at the Museum of Photographic Arts. The festival will open on Friday, March 27, and present 8 screenings, each showcasing one feature film and one short film (except for one that has 2 shorts and one in which the feature is long so it doesn’t have an accompanying short), from across the Arab World. All films are presented at the John and Irwin Jacobs Theater in the Museum of Photographic Arts. Each evening, the festival will also offer cafeteria-style Arabic dinner.
This year we have all three films from and about Palestine that were shortlisted for the Best International feature award. Six of our films were the official submission by their respective countries for Best International Feature ("Palestine 36," Palestine, "The Voice of Hind Rajab," Tunisia, "All that’s Left of You," Jordan, "A Sad and Beautiful World," Lebanon, "The President’s Cake," Iraq, and "Calle Malaga," Morocco. Our short films include two films about Palestine from Iranian filmmakers, who are struggling to find international audiences because of US sanctions, as well as films from Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and Yemen and the US.
We are excited to bring these films to the San Diego community!
Museum of Photographic Arts at the San Diego Museum of Art (MOPA @ SDMA) in Balboa Park
The mission of the Museum of Photographic Arts is to inspire, educate and engage the broadest possible audience through the presentation, collection, and preservation of photography, film and video. Since its founding in 1983, the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) has been devoted to collecting, conserving and exhibiting the entire spectrum of the photographic medium. The museum’s endeavors consistently address cultural, historical and social issues through its exhibitions and public tours. The Museum of Photographic Arts is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a member-supported, private, non-profit institution. Additional support for museum programs is provided in part by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation, the Weingart-Price Fund, the San Diego Foundation, Patrons of the Prado and the National Endowment for the Arts. MOPA is located in Balboa Park in the Casa De Balboa building, east of the main traffic circle and central fountain. Gallery Admissions: MOPA has a pay-what-you-wish admission policy. Recommended pricing is $8 adults $7 seniors and retired military $6 students FREE to members, active military & dependents, and children 12 & under FREE to school groups with advanced reservation San Diego Residents' Free Tuesdays San Diego City and County residents and all active military members get in FREE, every second TUESDAY of the month. Please bring your ID. Hours of Operation: Tuesday - Sunday: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Summer Hours: Thursday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. through the summer. Closed: Mondays, Martin Luther King Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Holiday Hours: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Includes: President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve)
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