The Arab Film and TV Awards has signed a collaborating partnership with the Arab Film Festival (AFF) based in San Francisco.

The AFF is the largest independent annual showcase of Arab films and filmmakers, which shows films in five Californian cities - San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Oakland and San Diego annually.

The awards will take place on February 3 next year at the Langham Hotel in London’s West End to honour the best of Arab talent at a ceremony that will be live streamed globally, said a statement.

The invited audience will include the awards’ nominees, as well as high profile guests from the Arab and Western film and television industries, it said.

The AFF will provide marketing and promotional support to the Arab Film and TV Awards, as well as assist with the selection of the nominees. Serge Bakalian, its executive director, will join the AFTVA advisory committee.

"The AFF is proud and honoured to be a collaborating partner for the inaugural AFTVA to be held in London, in February 2015. The AFTVA's promises to become the premier annual event promoting Arab cinema and introducing the richness and diversity of the Arab world to the international community,” said Bakalian.

James Black, producer of AFTVA, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be collaborating with the Arab Film Festival. The festival has been carefully built over the last 18 years to now become one of the most important international film festivals in the world.

“The team at AFTVA will be working very hard to help the Arab Film Festival grow even further and receive the attention and accolades it rightfully deserves. We are also joining together to promote the emerging talents of the Arab film industry worldwide.” - TradeArabia News Service