Haifa Independent Film Festival

Since the establishment of the festival, the HIFF team has worked to ensure that the festival is an independent body and offers new films from Palestine, the Arab world, and international selections. It aspires to create a stage for cinematic development in Palestine and the world in general and to contribute to the local film industry scene in Palestine and the Arab region. HIFF has committed to make Haifa a center for Arab cinema and culture and creating bridges that will make Haifa a legitimate part of the Arab world on both a cultural and social level with the goal of cooperation and joint work on productions between cultural actors from Haifa and neighboring Arab cities. HIFF is free of institutional and governmental funding and works with no bureaucracy, censorship or dictation from anyone. Since it's first edition in 2016, the Haifa Independent Film Festival has succeeded in marking its finger print in the Arab cultural and cinema landscape in general and in Haifa in particular. The festival was born as a result of the need of a cinematic stage in Palestine. Films from Palestine are annually screened to international audiences around the world while a local stage was lacking prior to HIFF for local audiences. It has attracted hundreds of film lovers from the Palestinian community and the international community who attend to enjoy a week of festivities and film screenings.