This year’s Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) in Egypt has been cancelled due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The festival confirmed that the decision had been made by Egypt’s ministry of culture and comes less than a month before it was due to open. The 45th edition of CIFF was scheduled to take place from November 15-24 alongside the Cairo Film Industry Days.
In a short statement, organisers said: “Minister of Culture Dr. Neven El-Kelany has decided to postpone the 45th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival… The new date for the festival will be determined later.”
While the comment stated “postponed”, a press representative for CIFF said the move is effectively a cancellation as there are no further available dates this year at the Opera House complex, where the festival takes place. A shift would also clash with Marrakech International Film Festival, which runs November 24 to December 2, or Red Sea International Film Festival, due to take place from November 30 to December 9.
It follows the recent rescheduling of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival (GFF), which has been pushed from October 13-20 to October 27 to November 2.
The move comes amid rising tensions in the Middle East as a result of the Israel-Hamas conflict, which began on October 7 when Palestinian group Hamas conducted an attack on Israel, sparking a retaliatory bombing campaign that is ongoing.
CIFF was set to unveil its programme in the coming weeks, having appointed Bosnian filmmaker Danis Tanović as president of its international competition jury. It had also revealed that Tamer Ruggli’s debut Back To Alexandria starring Fanny Ardant and Nadine Labaki was set to screen at the festival and that Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah would be honoured with a Golden Pyramid award for lifetime achievement.
The festival is one of the oldest in the Arab world and Africa, having launched in 1976, and is the only festival in the region given category “A” status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in Paris (FIAPF).
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