Arab Film Fest 2026

Arab Film Fest Tulsa returns for a sixth year with acclaimed films capturing contemporary life in the SWANA (Southwest Asia + North Africa) region: a Lebanese romance; a family dramedy on Egypt’s politics; a coming-of-age story in Sudan’s cotton fields; a rare Libyan selection about a father and former Prime Minister Maummar Qaddafi; a doc double feature on American extremism—from a Palestinian murder in CA to cross-country cases including Tulsa. Plus catered receptions, special talks, and a welcoming community. www.circlecinema.org/afft

SCHEDULE

FRIDAY 11/13                                      

7:00PM A Sad and Beautiful World - is a sweeping Beirut love story about two childhood friends reunited by fate.

9:00PM Opening reception catered by Shawkat’s Mediterranean Grill

SATURDAY 11/14                               

Documentary double feature w/ refreshments + filmmakers & local family talk - AMERICAN HATE—SURVIVORS SPEAK and WHO KILLED ALEX ODEH?, investigating American extremism and justice, from a Palestinian murder in California to cross-country cases including Tulsa, OK.

2:00PM American Hate—Survivors Speak

4:30PM Who Killed Alex Odeh?

7:00PM The Stories - turns a 1967 pen-pal romance between an Egyptian pianist and an Austrian woman into a decades-spanning family story, inspired by the director’s own parents.

SUNDAY 11/15                                    

2:30PM My Father and Qaddafi - a daughter pieces together the disappearance of her father, a peaceful opponent of Qaddafi, and her own Libyan identity.

4:00PM Closing reception catered by Burning Cedar

4:30PM Cotton Queen - follows Nafisa, a teenager in a Sudanese cotton-farming village, who finds herself at the center of a fight for her community’s future when a businessman arrives with modified seeds and a marriage proposal.

w/ intro by local guest & prerecorded convo w/director

The All Access Pass gets you into all six Arab Film Fest Tulsa films and every related event, Friday 11/13 through Sunday 11/15. That includes the catered opening and closing receptions, the special talks and discussions, and the Saturday doc double feature.

Buy once and you’re in for the whole weekend, with no separate tickets for each film. The week of the festival, we’ll email pass holders with instructions for using the pass at every Arab Film Fest event.

Your pass includes:

• Fri 11/13, 7pm: A Sad and Beautiful World + catered reception by Shawkat’s

• Sat 11/14, 2pm: Doc double feature, American Hate—Survivors Speak and Who Killed Alex Odeh? + filmmakers & local family talk & refreshments

• Sat 11/14, 7:30pm: The Stories

• Sun 11/15, 2:30pm: My Father and Qaddafi

• Sun 11/15, 4pm: Catered reception by Burning Cedar

• Sun 11/15, 4:30p: Cotton Queen + special guest intro & prerecorded director convo

Individual tickets for each film will be $12 general and $10 for Circle members and students. They go on sale soon, along with more details on each film, reception and discussion.