STILL HERE... STILL TELLING...
BWFF 2026 STATEMENT
In light of the ongoing war affecting Lebanon and the region, the 9th edition of the Beirut International Women Film Festival adopts a refined and essential format.
From April 27 to 30, at Grand Cinemas – ABC Dbayeh, the festival will present its official film selection, placing the focus where it truly belongs: on the voices, visions, and stories of women in cinema.
At a time when many are displaced, when fear and uncertainty shape daily life, when youth question their future, and when a nation grows weary of recurring conflict, we choose to hold space.
Space for stories that reflect us, for voices that resist erasure, for cinema that listens, carries, and connects.
We are not untouched by this reality.
Like many cultural institutions, we too are tired… tired of trying to let art and words rise above the noise of war, tired of creating in the shadow of uncertainty.
And yet, we continue.
Because postponing culture until peace arrives would mean accepting silence and silence is not an option.
This edition is a gesture of presence, of responsibility, of continuity. A reminder that culture remains one of the last bridges we share, and that even in the most fragile moments, stories can still gather us, restore meaning, and keep hope alive.
Still here. Still telling.
#BWFF2026
#WomenForLeadership
MEET THE ARTIST BEHIND THE POSTER
Najwa Mallah, Head of Branding and Design
Najwa Mallah is a Beirut based Art Director, she holds a BA in Multimedia and an MA in Design.
Najwa has built a diverse career through small and large-scale projects across various
industries. Najwa draws inspiration from everyday life to craft innovative ideas that resonate with audiences. Whether working with teams or independently, Najwa is always on the lookout for new ways to push the boundaries of design while maintaining a focus on quality and client vision.
Najwa is the Head of Branding and Design at Beirut Film Society; among her work is the Beirut Shorts International Film Festival and the Beirut International Women Film Festival. and others.
ORGANIZED BY
BEIRUT FILM SOCIETY
Beirut Film Society is a Non-for Profit Lebanese organization situated in Beirut, working since 2007 on promoting for “responsible filmmaking”.
Beirut Film Society works on introducing cinema culture as an educative tool to human rights and ethics; and on spreading the Lebanese culture though cinema when and where possible.
Our mission comprises improving the filmmaking industry, empowering and supporting talents and creativity, reinforcing the concept of “responsible filmmaking”, and above all staying committed to its social responsibility in Lebanon and the Arab world, and far beyond.
BFS aims to shape the future of the film industry, by presenting Lebanon as a diverse filming location, and by providing data about film personnel, and other needed filming logistics, to the international companies and filmmakers in order to help them produce high quality audiovisual and film content.
GIRLS FOR CHANGE
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Girls For Change
GIRLS FOR CHANGE program continues to be an initiative created and developed by Beirut Film Society to train Lebanese and Syrian girls between 13 and 18 years old living in the most vulnerable areas in Lebanon on how to use Audio Visual and Film to seek
change and to express themselves.
The training program, covered so far most Lebanese regions, with more than 500 beneficiaries resulting the production of more than 30 short films written and directed by the girls under the supervision of BFS team of trainers.
In this program, Beirut International Women Film Festival & Beirut International Children and Family Film Festival are committed to social issues and aim to contribute to the SDG's 4 and 5, Quality Education and Gender Equality.
NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
In a region once again shaken by war, displacement, and injustice, and in a Lebanon still searching for stability, dignity, and direction, we gather—not to escape reality, but to confront it through the lens of courage, truth, and art.
Welcome to the Beirut International Women Film Festival 2025.
This year, we walk with “The Woman Who Walked Between Worlds.”
Inspired by the pioneering Lebanese writer and feminist Zainab Fawwaz, this year's theme—Women for Leadership—invites us to reflect on what it means to lead, to heal, and to build in times of collapse.
Zainab walked at the edge of eras, caught between the weight of tradition and the urgency of progress. Much like the women of today—across Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Ukraine, and beyond—who continue to stand between grief and resilience, resistance and renewal.
The wounds are real. The stories are not easy. In Lebanon, we have lived through layers of trauma—economic collapse, political paralysis, violence, and mass displacement. In 2024 and 2025, as the region bled, so did our spirit. And yet, here we are. Still creating. Still dreaming. Still fighting to reclaim the narrative.
This festival is not just a celebration. It is a commitment. A space where pain is transformed into poetry, silence into testimony, and struggle into leadership. Every film, every voice, every woman represented here carries within her the seed of change.
We do not gather in denial of the dark.
We gather because we believe in the light.
We believe that leadership is not power over others—but power with others. It is not inherited—it is earned, claimed, and walked into, step by step, even across broken ground.
To the women who persist, who rebuild homes and movements, who write, who lead, who listen—we see you. This is your festival.
To the men who stand beside them, who uplift, support, and make space—we thank you. You are part of the future we are building.
And to the policymakers, institutions, and leaders watching:
Change will not wait for permission.
It demands action. Now.
End discriminatory laws. Enforce equity in pay and opportunity. Invest in inclusive policies. Rebuild with the people—not above them.
As Zainab once walked between two worlds, we too are crossing thresholds. From despair to hope. From silence to story. From inequality to leadership.
So let us rise, not in spite of what we've lived—but because of it.
Welcome to BWFF 2025.
Let this be a beginning—not only of a festival, but of a movement.
Sam Lahoud
Founder, President – Beirut Film Society
Founder, Director – Beirut International Women Film Festival