ARAB LOTFI

Arab Lotfi, born in the city of Sidon in southern Lebanon, acquired a strong political – Marxist- and feminist-oriented – commitment. When very young, she witnessed an outbreak of war in her country (1967) and later lived under the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. “I’m a filmmaker, this is my profession, but also, I define myself as a political activist. I’m Lebanese, but I also have Egyptian nationality and work with Palestinians. Yet I feel it all belongs to one country. You can say I have a single Arab nationality.” Arab Lotfi studied film at the Higher Institute of Cinema in Cairo. She teaches at the American University in Cairo, works as assistant director for many Egyptian feature films and has directed several documentaries, including A Beautiful Mirror and La Noce.