The Cordoba African Film Festival (also known as FCAT Cordoba) celebrates its 9th edition from October 13 to 20, 2012.

After 8 editions held in Tarifa, the Festival moves this year to Cordoba, located in Andalusia, Spain to present 8 days dedicated to cinema from 28 African and Middle East countries.

94 films will be screened during the Festival, together with seminars and forums between African and European film professionals and the audience, and a special focus on children and college students.

Al Tarab, a Spanish non-profit organization, has organized the Festival since 2003.

Among others, it is supported by Cordoba City Council, the Andalusia regional Government and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

Expect to see the latest films from South Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania, to name a few, as well as African films, about Africans, shot in European countries.

There is a competition section to the festival, with 3 different award categories: The African Dream award (for feature films), On the Other Side of the Strait (documentary films), and Africa in Short (short films). Through a juried selection process, an award will be given to each section’s best film during the awards ceremony on the 19th of October, during which the winning films will be screened.

Moreover, the Festival will feature 7 non-competitive sections:

– Afroscope – a panoramic showcase of African and international film productions centered on the many realities of contemporary Africa;

– Panarabica – a selection of films from the 8th Dubai International Film Festival program;

– Animafrica – a selection of the latest animated films produced in the continent;

– Africa in Rhythm – films depicting dance and music as they are performed in the continent;

– Algeria, 50 Years of History and Cinema – a special on films from the country;

– Cinema and City – focus on films reflecting on the continent’s urbanization;

– Abderrahmane Sissako’s Little Film Library – a section including 5 significant films selected by the award-winner Mauritanian filmmaker.

The festival was created in 2003 as a showcase event without any competitive sections, taking place in the southernmost town of Europe: Tarifa. However, over the past eight years, it has consolidated to become one of the main European references for African cinema, and, as it describes itself, the most important in Spain.

Look for individual highlights of films in this year's lineup, some we've covered in the past.