In light of Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), we round up the romantic Arabic films that we return to time and again for their heartwarming plotlines and happy endings.
‘The Blazing Sun’ (1954)
The Egyptian film directed by Youssef Chahine still stands as one of Arab world’s most legendary love stories, having led to the movies’ leads Faten Hamama and Omar Sheriff’s marriage a year after its release.
‘Gaza Mon Amour’ (2021)
Directed by Palestinian filmmaking twins Tarzan and Arab Nasser, the movie tells the tale of a 60-year-old fisherman who is secretly in love with a market dressmaker.
‘Cairo Station’ (1958)
Melodrama and thriller, social drama and love story in one, the feature film, also by Egyptian director Chahine, follows Kinawi, a newspaper salesman who becomes obsessed with Hannouma, a beautiful lemonade vendor at a train station.
‘Omar’ (2013)
This Palestinian drama directed by Hany Abu-Assad is about a baker who is in love with a young woman on the opposite side of the separation wall. The film received the Jury Prize in the “Un Certain Regard” category at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013.
‘The Light of My Eyes’ (2010)
Starring Egyptian singer Tamer Hosny, this film is about an artist who falls in love with a woman with visual impairment.
‘1982’ (2019)
During the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, an 11-year-old boy tries to tell a classmate about his crush on her while their teachers try to hide their fear of the conflict, in this Oualid Mouaness-directed film.