1981 Egypt: Assassination of Anwar Sadat. He is succeeded as president by Hosni Mubarak.
1982 Iran: February: Inception of the Fajr International Film Festival. June: The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance is given power to regulate cinema in Iran through a series of policies that attempt to ensure accordance with the Islamic Republic’s values, requiring all films made in the country to obtain a series of approvals at various stages of their production and all films shown in the country to receive an exhibition permit dictating when and where they may be screened. Israel/Lebanon: 6 June: Israel invades southern Lebanon (Operation Peace for Galilee). 16–18 September: The Sabra and Shatila Massacre takes place in the named municipality and Palestinian refugee camp near Beirut. Israfest is founded to promote Israeli cinema in the United States. Morocco: The Embers, directed by Farida Bourquia, becomes the first Moroccan film directed by a woman. Palestine: The leadership of the PLO is exiled from Lebanon to Tunisia. Turkey: Şerif Gören’s The Way shares the award for best film at the Cannes Film Festival.
1983 Egypt: The Bus Driver (Atef El-Tayeb) is released. It is often credited as announcing the beginning of the New Realist movement, partially a response to Anwar Sadat’s Infitah (“Open Door” policy). Iran: The Farabi Cinema Foundation is established to oversee the film industry and later becomes instrumental in subtitling films for international festival screenings. Israel: The first Jerusalem International Film Festival is held.
1984 Maghreb: The Fonds Sud Cinéma is established by the French government to support the influence of Francophonie in the Global South. Algeria: Entreprise Nationale de Production Cinématographique (ENAPROC) and Entreprise Nationale de Distribution et d’Exploitation Cinématographiques (ENADEC) succeed the ONCIC as the central agencies for administering the cinema sector.
1986 Iran: The Runner (Amir Naderi) and Bashu, the Little Stranger (Bahram Beyzai) signal a resurgence in Iranian cinema after the revolution, and begin its acknowledgment as one of the world’s most important cinemas by international audiences and critics.
1987 Algeria: November: The Centre Algérien pour l’Art et l’Industrie Cinématographiques (CAAIC) replaces ENAPROC and ENADEC as the central agency for administering the cinema sector. RTA resources are regrouped into the Entreprise Nationale de Productions Audiovisuelles. Palestine: Wedding in Galilee, directed by Michel Khleifi, becomes the first Palestinian film shot within historic Palestine and backed by European funding. 9 December: The First Intifada erupts.
1988 Iran/Iraq: The Iran–Iraq War ends. Israel: The Berkey-Humphries Studio merges with the Israel Motion Picture Studios to form United Studios of Israel. United Arab Emirates: The Wayfarer, directed by Ali Al Abdul, becomes the UAE’s first domestically produced feature film.
1989 Iran: Where Is the Friend’s House? begins Abbas Kiarostami’s so-called Koker Trilogy, which moves from humanist realism to pseudo-documentary and intensive self-reflexivity, while Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Wedding of the Blessed marks a decisive break from the Islamist themes of his earlier works. June: Ayatollah Khomeini dies. Jordan: The Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation is established in Amman. Lebanon: A business mogul orchestrates the Taef Agreement, in which the Lebanese militias agree to end the civil war.
1990 Iraq/Kuwait: 2 August: Iraq invades Kuwait. Turkey: The first private television channel, Magic Box Inter Star 1, begins broadcasting, affecting the course of cinema in Turkey and soon putting an end to the Yeşilçam era, as numerous Turkish filmmakers will come to find work in television.
1991: Cold War ends. Iran: February: Rakshan Bani-Etemad wins the best director prize for her controversial Nargess at the Fajr International Film Festival. Iraq: 17 January: The United States invades Iraq, thus beginning the Gulf War. Turkey: A small output of 33 films, most of them not released theatrically, marks the end of the late Yeşilçam period and the shift from the popular Yeşilçam industry to the post-Yeşilçam period, or new cinema of Turkey, putting an end to the Yeşilçam era.
1992 Algeria: January: The success of the Islamic Salvation Front in the first round of national elections leads to an army intervention, the postponement of subsequent elections, and the beginning of a 10-year civil war. Investment in and production of cinema declines precipitously over this period. Lebanon: The Tornado, directed by Samir Habchi, becomes the first Lebanese post–Civil War film.
1993 Algeria: October: The cinema sector is privatized, and CAAIC funding is severely limited. Israel/Palestine: The New Israeli Fund for Film and Television is established. 13 September: The Oslo Peace Accords are launched.
1994 Egypt: Naguib Mahfouz is stabbed in Cairo. Tunisia: SATPEC is dissolved.
1996 Palestine: The Cinema Production and Distribution Center is established by Rashid Masharawi in Ramallah. Turkey: The first hit of the new cinema of Turkey, The Bandit (Yavuz Turgul), is released, and domestic films once again find opportunities for theatrical release.
1997 Iran: May: Abbas Kiartostami’s Taste of Cherry wins the Palme d’or, the Cannes Film Festival’s highest honor. August: Mohammed Khatami, previously head of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and a moderate force in Iranian politics, is elected president, leading to greater leniency in the imposition of restrictions on the cinema and the release of some previously banned films. The Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association (IRDFA) is created to aid in directing, producing, and distributing documentary films in Iran. Lebanon: The first Beirut International Film Festival is held.
1998 Algeria: The government dismantles CAAIC and its affiliates; 217 employees lose their jobs. Iran: Mohsen Makhmalbaf shoots The Silence in Tajikistan. Israel: The Bill for Cinema is passed. Lebanon: West Beirut, directed by Ziad Doueiri, draws large audiences to its premier at the Beirut International Film Festival, thus marking the beginning of a cinematic renaissance in Lebanon.
1999 Iran: Children of Heaven (Majid Majidi, 1997) is a breakthrough hit in the United States and is nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category. Morocco: King Hassan II dies; his son, Mohammed VI, accedes to the throne and begins lifting certain repressive government measures, including some of those involving film censorship.
2000 Iran: Three Iranian films, The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf), Djomeh (Hassan Yektapanah), and A Time for Drunken Horses (Bahnman Qobadi) win major prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. Qobadi establishes Mij films to promote Kurdish cinematic culture. Israel/Lebanon/Palestine: May: Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon, ceding victory to Hezbollah. Palestinian refugees rush to the fenced border to meet relatives, as depicted in Mai Masri’s Frontiers of Dreams and Fears. July: Oslo negotiations fail. 29 July: The Al-Aqsa Intifada erupts.
2002: Israel: Hasbara Handbook: Promoting Israel on Campus is published, officially formalizing the titular cultural diplomacy project.
2003 Iraq: February: The United States leads an invasion of Iraq, thus beginning the Iraq War. Jordan: July: The Royal Film Commission (RFC) and the Amman Filmmakers Cooperative are established. Western Sahara: The International Sahara Film Festival, also known as the FiSahara Film Festival, or simply FiSahara, is started by Peruvian filmmaker Javier Corcurera.
2004 Maghreb: The French Centre National du Cinéma, in partnership with the Intergovernmental