The collection showcases the diversity and richness of the region.
The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) will showcase a rich selection of Egyptian and Arab films, constituting nearly a quarter of the festival’s programme. The selections encompass a diverse range of Arabic films, including world premieres and internationally acclaimed films that have garnered public and critical acclaim at various international film festivals.
In the festival’s Official Competition category, four films from the Arab world have been selected, including Moroccan filmmaker Faouzi Bensaïdi’s Deserts. The film had its world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival. The competition’s lineup also includes Mira Shaib’s Arze, Back to Alexandria by Egyptian-Swiss director Tamer Ruggli and Emirati-Indian production The Yellow Bus which stands out as OSN original production. The competition’s opening film will be the Lebanese documentary Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano by Cyril Aris.
Two Arab films, Cilama by Hady Zaccak and Egyptian director Aya Yusuf’s Samar: Before The Final Picture will have their world premiere in the documentary competition.
The line-up also includes Syrian film Under the Sky of Damascus and Palestinian film Three Promises. Saudi film, To My Son, will be presented in the festival’s Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition.
The Short Film Competition includes 10 Egyptian and Arab films, seven of which will have world premieres: Promise to the Sea by Hend Sohail (Egypt), For Good Luck by Samer Battikhi (Jordan), Enough Water to Drown by Joseph Adel
(Egypt), Passing Day by Rasha Shahin (Syria), Wishes for my Heart by Sherien Diab (Egypt), The Last Dismissal by Jawaher Alamri (Saudi Arabia) and The Poem We Sang by Annie Sakkab (Palestine).
Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) is one of the oldest festivals in the Arab world and Africa, and is the only festival in the Arab and African region registered in the category A of the International Federation of
Producers in Prasles, France, FIAPF.
