Aflamuna - A Space for Socio-political and Critical Thought Around Independent Arab Cinema
Aflamuna (‘our films’ in Arabic) is an online film streaming website that was launched last April, a way to reach viewers at home during the pandemic. I had included Aflamuna in a post last year about Alternative Streaming Options.
It started out as an “initiative launched by a group of Arab filmmakers and film institutions” streaming for free a selection of contemporary Arab cinema that gets changed every 15 days. The website was on a break for the past few months and relaunched earlier this month, positioning itself as a “nonprofit streaming platform, made by Beirut DC, to share Independent Arab Cinema with audiences across the World”.
Each month, a new curator explores a social, political or cultural theme through a hand-picked selection of cult, contemporary, classic and independent Arab films. Every week, a new film is made available to our subscribers.
Aflamuna is also a space for socio-political and critical thought around independent Arab cinema. Original essays unravel the context, power and impact of each program, and explore their relevance to the present moment.
The pandemic has given rise to so many online film streaming websites, each one vying for your eyes and your time (and money), and slowly taking away hopes of seeing so many films in a movie theatre.
On the one hand, there’s never been a time when films have been so easily accessible, but on the other, so many films are at the mercy of the ‘algorithm’. Independent Arab films in particular don’t have a strong worldwide presence, which is why a website like Aflamuna could use your attention and support as it aims to present important classic and contemporary films with English subtitles.
These are the films showing this week, all very rare to see under normal circumstances. Visit https://aflamuna.online and register to watch these films for free.
