Planning for Mizna’s first Twin Cities Arab Film Festival began in 2002, and the inaugural event occurred in 2003. This year’s festival will be the 9th Arab Film Festival in North America.

Mizna is committed to bringing the most current and provocative Arab cinema to the Twin Cities by local, national, and international filmmakers and collectives. The festival goal is to exhibit films made by Arabs and non-Arabs that highlight important aspects of Arab cultural and political life, as well as films that showcase aesthetically or politically challenging themes. Mizna aims to screen Minnesota premieres, with exceptions for remarkable works that deal with contemporary issues in the Arab world and critical questions related to Arab art and life.

Additionally, the Twin Cities Arab Film Festival signifies Mizna’s interest in celebrating artists whose work is Arab-themed by inviting filmmakers to attend screenings and engage audience members in relevant discussions. Moreover, it is vital to Mizna and the larger community that the festival support emerging and independent productions made by local, national, and international filmmakers.

Mizna is a non-profit organization devoted to providing a forum for Arab American art. Mizna provides cultural programming in the Twin Cities and publishes the only journal of Arab American literature in the United States.

Find out more at MIZNA.ORG