MENA Film Festival

The 3rd edition of Middle East and North Africa Film Festival will take place in Vancouver November 19 to 26, 2021. MENA is Vancouver's first festival dedicated to films from the MENA/SWANA region and it will be our second year presenting our films virtually. We are excited for the chance to continue showcasing stories and experiences from our local community, across Canada and the global diaspora. We seek films of any genre, with particular emphasis on original and experimental portrayals of the MENA/SWANA region that challenge stereotypes and bend colonial visions of the region and its diaspora. We welcome submissions from emerging as well as established artists from wherever MENA identities are found and forged. *We acknowledge that our festival is based off the unceded, ancestral and traditional and lands of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səlí̓lwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. ===== COVID-19 Health and Safety: We plan to follow the latest health guidelines mandated by the BC Ministry of Health. We continue to prioritize our mission to champion MENA/SWANA filmmakers in Canada and bring films from and about the region to local audiences. While we maintain a flexible outlook regarding the format and venue of our festival in November, all decisions will be guided with the safety of our immediate community paramount. Whether it take place fully online as last year, feature some in-person component or rely on a hybrid model will be based on these immediate concerns. (Given the global pandemic context, our festival had to pivot online for the 2020 edition. We will be maintaining online virtual screenings via Eventive but might pivot to a hybrid formula depending on the public health situation.)