Since 1999, in partnership with the Lumière Institute, the Festival Cinemas of the South takes place to honor the cinematography from countries of Maghreb and the Middle East, leading the Festival to be certified under the European Year of International Dialogue (EYID) in 2008.

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Each year, the selection reflects the realities facing the contemporary Arab world and, through the unique eyes of the filmmakers, take on the strife that these regions are experiencing: among others, the issues of religion, political ambiguity, xenophobia, fundamentalism, war and exile.

 

It offers as well the opportunity to discover rare films, most of them unreleased in France, and others released on poorly accessible circuits. During the Festival, exchanges, discussions and meetings are organized to facilitate the discovery of these regions that are so far, yet so close.