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 Agency for Francophonie, improves support schemes for screenwriting and writer-in-residence programs. Palestine: The Palestinian Film Foundation (PFF) is founded in the United Kingdom to coordinate Palestinian film festivals and seminars throughout that country. Turkey: Fatih Akın’s Head-On wins the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. United Arab Emirates: The Dubai International Film Festival is launched.
2005 Algeria: Assia Djebar becomes the first North African woman elected to the Académie Française. Lebanon: Former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri is assassinated by a car bomb in Beirut, setting off the Cedar Revolution, which results in the withdrawal of Syrian troops from the country. Iran: Conservative populist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad becomes president. Palestine: Paradise Now, directed by Hany Abu-Assad, becomes the first Palestinian film accepted for entry into the U.S. Academy Awards. Shashat is established in Ramallah to support Palestinian women’s filmmaking. United Arab Emirates: A Dream, directed by Hani Al-Shibani, becomes the first UAE-produced feature to screen at an international film festival. Yemen: A New Day in Old Sana’a, directed by Bader Ben Hirsi, becomes the first feature film from Yemen.
2006 Israel/Lebanon: 12 July–14 August: The 33-day Israel–Hezbollah War takes place as Israel reinvades Lebanon, becoming the focus of several films, including Under the Bombs, directed by Philippe Aractingi, and I Want to See, directed by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige. Saudi Arabia: How’s It Going?, directed by Izidore Musallam, becomes the first Saudi-funded feature film.
2007 Yemen: December: The first-ever Yemeni film festival is held at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). United Arab Emirates: The Middle East International Film Festival, renamed Abu Dhabi Film Festival in 2010, is launched.
2008 Egypt: 27 July: Youssef Chahine, the prolific and probably best-known of all Arab filmmakers, dies in Cairo. Israel/Palestine: December: The Israel Defense Forces massively invade the Gaza Strip. Turkey: Domestic cinema in Turkey sells more tickets than foreign films for the first time since the Yeşilçam years, and all 10 top-grossing films are domestic products. Nuri Bilge Ceylan wins the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival with his Three Monkeys.
2009 Algeria: The National Amazigh Film Festival begins in Tizi Ouzou. Iran: Opposition to disputed election results in Iran is partly coordinated and publicized online through the use of YouTube and Twitter. Palestine: Amreeka (Cherien Dabis), arguably the first Palestinian American feature film, is released to critical acclaim in North America.
2010 Iraq: August: The United States begins combat troop withdrawal from Iraq. Israel: The Reut Institute codifies the hasbara project in “Building a Firewall against Israeli Delegitimation: Conceptual Framework.” Jordan: The Karama Human Rights Film Festival is established in Amman.
2011 Algeria: 24 February: The 19-year state of emergency is lifted. Egypt: 25 January–11 February: Popular uprising leads to the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. Bahrain: February: Popular protests erupt against the governing Bahraini monarchy. 14 March–4 July: Saudi Arabian military troops intervene to quash the antigovernment protests. Iran: February: A Separation, directed by Asghar Farhadi, wins an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film category. Kuwait:
