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Cannes Film Festival 2022 is right around the corner, reeling in the top work from the film industry around the globe. From coming of age dramas to psychological thrillers, hundreds of films will be shown in the French Riveria’s resort town from May 17th to the 28th. Ahead are the most anticipated films by Arab directors who will be showing their work at Cannes Film Festival 2022.

Holy Spider

Holy Spider is a much-anticipated true-crime thriller set in Iran, by the Iranian-Danish filmmaker, Ali Abbasi. This film isn’t for the faint of heart as it follows a family man turned serial killer who uses religion to justify a string of murders; where he is “cleansing” the Iranian city of Mashhad of its underground adult industry. It will play in the official selection of films at Cannes and is nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or award.

Mediterranean Fever

This film was created by the Palestinian director, Maha Haj and produced by the Palestinian producer Baher Agbariya. Mediterranean Fever centres around a middle-aged man suffering from depression, with hopes of becoming a writer. He unexpectedly befriends his crooked neighbour, who takes him on a dark journey that we follow throughout the film.

Boy From Heaven

Boy from Heaven is a thriller directed by Tarik Saleh that tells a story about a prestigious university professor who drops dead on his first day of the new school year. The meat of this film is the power struggle to replace him that unfolds thereafter. Boy from Heaven is also a part of the Cannes Film Festival 2022 official selection, competing for the Palme d’Or award.

ASHKAL

This film is an enticing thriller by Youssef Chebbi that is centred around unexplained murders in the gardens of Carthage. Ashkal follows two officers, Fatma and Batal, who are ordered to investigate the first murder, which is written off as a suicide and the two don’t agree with this jurisdiction. Their suspicions are confirmed when the crime happens again and they’re forced to piece together who or what is behind it.

Harka

Harka is a coming of age film by Lotfy Nathan that is set in Tunisia and centres around a young boy who loses his father and, in turn, becomes the surrogate father for his two younger sisters.