site.bta12th Edition of Sofia MENAR Brings Over 40 Features, Documentaries and Shorts from Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa

The 16th edition of the Sofia MENAR, a festival for cinema from the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa, starts on January 12 with a smile, said the organizers from Pozor. The opening screening at the Sofia House of Cinema will be of the Kazakh comedy Mountain Onion, an award-winner from the Venice Festival.

The program continues until January 28 in the House of Cinema, G8, Euro Cinema, Vlykova - all of them in Sofia - as well as online.

The programme includes more than 40 features, documentaries and shorts. 

Among the highlights of the festival is Daughters of Abdul-Rahman, a comedy from Jordan which won the audience awards at the San Diego and Cairo festivals, as well as the jury prize at the Beirut festival; All Roads Lead to Rome from Lebanon; Goodbye, Schmidt from Azerbaijan; A Childless Village from Iran, as well as Morocco's most watched film, Summer in Boujad.

Another focus in the programme is German co-productions with countries from the MENAR region. The Deutsche MENAR programme, which is a joint initiative with Goethe Institut, includes Oray; No Hard Feelings; Copilot; I Was, I Am, I Will Be; and Almanya: Welcome to Germany.