The 12th Djerba International Film Festival for Women and Youth is set to occur from October 24-27, 2026. This year's event celebrates Arab and international cinema, as well as female and youth talent. A total of 68 films from 37 countries will participate in the festival. India has been invited as the guest of honor for this edition. The festival aims to promote intercultural dialogue through cinema and support emerging filmmakers, particularly women.
The festival's program includes 39 films competing in various categories. These include 12 documentaries, 12 fiction films, 8 school films, and 7 children's films. Additionally, 29 films will be screened out of competition. The participating films come from countries worldwide, including Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Iran, and many others. The films will be evaluated by multinational juries.
The festival features several juries, each presided over by prominent figures in the film industry. Lamia Belkaied-Guiga, a Tunisian cinema professor, will lead the fiction film jury. The documentary film jury will be presided over by German critic Pascale Fakhri. The school film competition jury will be led by Syrian filmmaker Muhannad Kalthoum. These juries will award prizes for various categories, including best documentary and fiction films.
The festival's opening ceremony on October 24 will honor several Tunisian and Arab cinematic and artistic figures. These include Dorra Zarrouk, Afef Ben Mahmoud, and Jamel Madani from Tunisia, as well as Dalia Mostafa from Egypt and Omar Al-Jasser from Saudi Arabia. The ceremony will celebrate the contributions of these individuals to the film industry.
In addition to film screenings and competitions, the festival will feature several parallel activities. These include a masterclass on screenwriting presented by Egyptian filmmaker Abdel Rahim Kamal. There will also be a workshop on puppet cinema led by Tunisian filmmaker Imad Oueslati. Furthermore, a workshop for children and adolescents titled "Let's Tell Our Story: From Reality to Documentary Film" will be conducted.
The festival also includes a workshop titled "Excellence in Film Writing and Direction," supervised by critic Kamel Ben Ouanes. A colloquium on "The Role of Women in Creating Cinematic Imagery" and a roundtable discussion on strategies for structuring and developing film festivals will also take place. These activities aim to promote knowledge sharing and expertise exchange among filmmakers.
The festival is organized with the goal of promoting cinema as a means of intercultural dialogue and supporting filmmaking creation. The event provides a platform for young filmmakers, particularly women, to showcase their work and experiences. The festival also encourages the exchange of expertise between different Arab and international film experiences.
Key points
- The 12th Djerba International Film Festival for Women and Youth will take place from October 24-27, 2026.
- India is the guest of honor at this year's festival.
- A total of 68 films from 37 countries will participate in the festival.
