The Arab American National Museum (AANM) is the first and only museum dedicated to telling the story of Arab Americans and their impact on the United States. Opened on May 5, 2005, in the heart of Dearborn – amid the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the nation – AANM's mission is to document, present and preserve the history, culture and contributions of Arab Americans.
AANM proudly hosts an annual Arab Film Festival (AFF), featuring fascinating new titles from one of the most prolific and creative set of filmmakers on the planet. AFF is one of the Museum’s longest-running programs, dating back to its inception. From 2015-2018, the Museum’s festival joined forces with the large regional festival known as Cinetopia, greatly expanding the reach of AFF films.
AFF showcases Arab and Arab American films for fans of Arabic-language movies and adventurous art-film lovers seeking new perspectives and outside-the-box thinking. Many of these films by both Arab World and Arab American artists are, with few exceptions, unlikely to reach traditional American commercial theaters. Genres include drama, comedy and documentary, in both short-form and feature lengths. Every festival film is subtitled in English, making them accessible to all.
In addition to the annual Arab Film Festival, AANM has a quarterly film series that was released in Fall 2018. It is curated with the festival mission in mind. All film screenings take place in AANM’s intimate, 156-seat Aliya Hassan Auditorium. Submissions for the Arab Film Festival may also be considered for AANM's film series.
AANM accepts film submissions throughout the year. All genres, lengths and themes are welcomed, as is a wide variety of voices and perspectives.
2020 Arab Film Festival: the early-bird submission deadline is 5 p.m. EDT Friday, Feb. 2, 2020, while the final submission deadline is 5 p.m. EDT Sunday, March 1, 2020.
Film series: Submissions will also be considered for all 2020 screenings.