With an expanded programme, fresh awards and a new artistic director, Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) is looking to move beyond the troubles of the past year. In October 2023, less than a month before the opening of the 45th edition, organisers confirmed the festival and market were cancelled following the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza conflict. It was only the third time the longest-running film festival in the Middle East and Africa had failed to take place.
“Holding the event was not possible at that time, as thousands of people were dying in Gaza,” says Hussein Fahmy, a veteran Egyptian actor who has been president of the festival since 2022. “The cancellation had significant repercussions for the festival and the situation was confusing for some time. It wasn’t easy to manage, and we lost some of our sponsors.”
However, it provided an opportunity to take a fresh look at the make-up of the festival and saw the appointment of Essam Zakaria as artistic director, who joined in April from Egypt’s Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts. “We have managed to reorganise ourselves, which required a refreshed vision from the programming team led by our new artistic director,” says Fahmy.
An expanded selection of around 194 films and 10 competition strands is promised, taking place from November 13-22 at Cairo Opera House Complex.
The festival is set to open with the world premiere of Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi’s Passing Dreams, as part of a focus on Palestinian cinema that also sees three Palestinian feature documentaries competing for the best Arab film awards (Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi’s A State Of Passion: Ghassan Abu Sittah, Mahmoud Nabil Ahmed’s Gazan Tales, and shorts anthology From Ground Zero).
The main international competition line-up includes Adam Elliot’s Memoir Of A Snail, French actress and director Julie Delpy’s comedy Meet The Barbarians, US filmmaker Constance Tsang’s comedy-drama Blue Sun Palace, and Romanian filmmaker Bogdan Mureșanu’s drama The New Year That Never Came.
Mati Diop’s Golden Bear-winning documentary Dahomey, Raoul Peck’s documentary Ernest Cole: Lost And Found, winner of Cannes’ Golden Eye award, Walter Salles’ Venice best screenplay winner I Am Still Here, are all screening out of competition.
The programming team includes Arwa Tag Eldeen, Rasha Hosny, Rami ElMetwaly and Mohamed Nabil.
Also set to carry over are many of the jury members, including Bosnian filmmaker Danis Tanovic, who will serve as president of the international competition jury. Having been promised honours in 2023, Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah will be in attendance to receive the Golden Pyramid award for lifetime achievement, while local star Ahmed Ezz will accept the Faten Hamama excellence award.
New this year are awards recognising best documentary, best African film and best Asian film, the latter presented by Netpac. There will also be a prize of more than $5,000 (egp250,000) awarded to the best film addressing the Palestinian cause, provided by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Radio and Television Union.
In addition, Cairo-based Misr International Films will present three $1,000 awards to the best shorts selected from anthology From Ground Zero, which comprises 22 films made by Gazan filmmakers. Led by veteran filmmaker Rashid Masharawi, the anthology is Palestine’s entry to the 97th Academy Awards.
The Horizons of New Arab Cinema Competition Awards have undergone significant changes this year. For the first time, all Arab films participating across various sections of the festival will be eligible to compete for five cash awards, totalling $25,000, for best Arab film, best director, best screenplay, best actor and best actress.
CIFF Classics is also expanding to celebrate the history of both Egyptian and international cinema. A 25-strong selection will include world premieres of 10 Egyptian films from the 1960s and ’70s, which have been recently restored by the country’s Cinematic Restoration Center.
“We will recognise the 100th anniversary of prominent figures in the cinema industry, including the birth of Armenian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov and Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, as well as the death of Franz Kafka,” says Zakaria.
Overcoming challenges
The artistic director acknowledges the challenges presented by last year’s cancellation but remains optimistic for the upcoming edition. “The national government subsidy is the core of the festival’s budget,” says Zakaria, explaining that Egypt’s Ministry of Culture provides 50% of CIFF’s budget, while the remainder comes via sponsorship.
“Therefore, it has been decided to allocate it exclusively to the upcoming edition, using other funds to settle existing debts. We aim to secure more than 60% of this year’s budget from sponsorships, and we already have numerous deals with national banks and other partners, which will be announced soon.”
Cairo Industry Days will also return, with its sixth edition running from November 15-21, featuring industry discussions, networking events, meetings, workshops, masterclasses and opportunities to forge partnerships. “We are trying to establish a bridge of co-operation and mutual support between film commissions in Arab countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and beyond,” says Zakaria.
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