The Best Arabic Movies on Netflix
Netflix has come a long way in its original Arabic language content - from Jinn (2019) which made enormous strides in representation of Jordanian actors but received mixed reviews - to Al Rawabi School for Girls (2021) which topped out at the 5th most viewed Netflix show during the week it was released. Though there are still far more Arabic shows and movies on Youtube, Roya, and Amazon, Netflix is convenient and tends to have both English and Arabic subtitles available. Here’s some of our favorite Arabic-language content on Netflix!
AlRawabi School for Girls
Country Dialect: Jordan
Length: 6, 50-minute episodes
AlRawabi School for Girls is a tale of bullying and revenge at an affluent private school in Amman, Jordan. It's funny, it's shocking, and it's a great Jordanian dialect resource. We're posted episode summaries, vocabulary lists, and playlists for each episode.
Read more in our full review of AlRawabi School for Girls
Al Hayba
Country Dialect: Lebanon
Length: 30, 40-minute episodes
Al Hayba is a popular, Lebanese drama about an arms-dealing family on the border of Lebanon and Syria. Things get complicated when one of the sons dies and his Canadian family visits the town for the funeral. Al Hayba has 30 episodes, all of which are available on Netflix with English subtitles.
Read more in our full review of Al Hayba
Aziza
Country Dialect: Syria
Length: 13 minutes
Soudade Kaadan's short film, Aziza, is about a Syrian couple's real and imagined experiences driving their car, named Aziza, around the streets of Beirut. They simultaneously experience the horrors of their situation in Lebanon while dreaming of their old lives in Syria. Aziza was featured at Sundance film festival and is available on Netflix with Arabic/English subtitles.
Read more in our full review of Aziza
The Present
Country Dialect: Palestine
Length: 24 minutes
The Present is a short movie about a Palestinian man trying to get an anniversary gift for his wife in Bethlehem. It's directed by Farah Nabulsi and is in the running for Best Live Action Short Film for the 2021 Academy Awards. You can watch The Present on Netflix worldwide!
Read more in our full review of The Present
Pomegranates and Myrrh
Country Dialect: Palestine
Length: 1h 34 minutes
Writer and director Najwa Najjar’s first feature film tells the story of Kamar and Zaid, a young, newly-married couple living in the Palestinian occupied territories. Kamar is a dancer and Zaid is an olive farmer. The life they are beginning to build together is disrupted when Israeli troops show up with a confiscation order for Zaid’s family’s land.
Read more in our full review of Pomegranates and Myrrh
Looking for more Arabic shows and movies to watch on the internet? Selfarabic has tons of suggestions, organized by dialect!
