The Arab Women in The Arts 2026 showcase (AWITA) returns for its sixth edition. AWITA is an event which celebrates and honours generations of Arab women who have shined and transformed in all forms of artistic expression.
rogrammed by Nanor Vosgueritchian, the showcase runs from 29th July through to 2nd August 2026 and is run in New York City, USA. Along with online screenings available to watch in America. You can also read all the must-see highlights from last year’s showcase here.
This year will spotlight Lebanese-French female filmmaker, Danielle Arbid. Her work is mainly told through the female perspective and explores such themes as memory, isolation, war, and more. Also read below for the full line-up.
Arab Women in The Arts 2026 – Highlighted Artist: Danielle Arbid
Arbid’s work includes short, medium, and feature-length films across fiction and documentary which often draws from her own life experiences. Although, unafraid to highlight forbidden ‘taboo’ topics in her work – Arbid’s films have been celebrated across film festivals for almost three decades.
Speaking up about the repressed pasts, Arbid is celebrated as one of the most innovative Arab women artists of today. However, not only through her ability to highlight tough topics in her work but to capture deep emotions through her lens.
At AWITA, Abid’s fiction films – In the Battlefields (2004), A Lost Man (2007), and Parisienne (2015) will be showcased. Along with a selection of four short films from the innovative female filmmaker.
Impressively, many of Arbid’s feature-length fiction films have been selected and awarded at such prestigious film festivals as Cannes, San Sebastián, Toronto, Busan, Locarno, and many more international festivals. But her most recent work, Only Rebels Win (2026) even opened the Panorama section at the Berlinale Film Festival 2026.
As well as many of Arbid’s documentaries and film essays have celebrated wins. These include the Golden and Silver Leopards at Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival and the Albert Londres Prize (Prix Albert-Londres).
At AWITA, a selection of Arbid’s work will be showcased in venues across New York City. These include Anthology Film Archives, Nitehawk Cinema, Low Cinema, and Woodbine.
Arab Women in The Arts 2026 – Showcased Films:
A selection of short films and feature films from Arbid’s work will be showcased at AWITA 2026. Here’s the line-up.
Short Film Program: Four Shorts by Danielle Arbid:
This short film program will feature the following films – Nous / Nihna (2005), Allo chérie (2015), Souvenirs de violence (2020), and I Give My Heart a Medal for Letting Go of You (2021). Additionally, these short films span from 13 to 23 minutes long and present four portraits of Arbid’s family.
Each film highlights her relationship with her father, mother, brother, and herself in a self-portrait. But a focus on Arbid’s Lebanon background is at the forefront of these films. These also explore such emotions as fear, loss, and tenderness.
Nous / Nihna (2005)
Runtime: 13 minutes
Country: Lebanon
Nous / Nihna follows Arbid and the portrayal of her father’s past-self and his present-self. But she’s afraid to lose his presence in her life after he falls ill.
Allo chérie (2015)
Runtime: 23 minutes
Country: Lebanon
Driving through the bustling streets of Beirut, the main character – Arbid’s mother attempts to manage constant phone calls, including to the bank amid financial troubles.
Souvenirs de violence (2020)
Runtime: 15 minutes
Country: Lebanon
Souvenirs de violence presents the complex relationship between Arbid and her younger brother, Joe from family friction and the childhood memories they share among the backdrop of the Lebanese civil war.
I Give My Heart a Medal for Letting Go of You (2021)
Runtime: 14 minutes
Country: France
I Give My Heart a Medal for Letting Go of You explores an intimate portrayal of the memory of a former lover through an unsent photograph. This captures the intimate moments of their relationship before they disappear.
Feature Films Program:
In the Battlefields (2004)
Runtime: 88 minutes
In 1983 war-torn Beirut, Lebanon 12-year-old Lina (Marianne Feghali) deals with family tensions amid finding a friend in her aunt’s 18-year-old maid, Siham (Rawia Elchab). She opens Lina’s eyes in what their world could be like, but things change when Siham asks Lina’s help to escape the city.
A Lost Man (2007)
Runtime: 93 minutes
Premiering in the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes Film Festival 2007, A Lost Man sees French photographer, Thomas (Melvil Poupaud) travel the world in his research on extreme experiences. But inspired by the travels of French photographer, Antoine d’Agata, Thomas meets Fouad (Alexander Siddig) who has a failing memory on his past – having gone missing in Beirut seventeen years prior. But what Thomas discovers profoundly changes his outlook on life.
Parisienne (2015)
Runtime: 119 minutes
Lina (Manal Issa) is a teenager searching for a sense of freedom away from her home country of Lebanon. She arrives in Paris for her University studies but must follow her instincts with each encounter, even finding romance along the way.
Click here to discover more about the Arab Women in the Arts 2026 showcase. You can also purchase festival tickets here.
Don’t forget to check out the highlights from last year’s AWITA showcase here.