To be eligible for submission, which ends on August 7, projects must be directed by filmmakers of Arab nationality or origin.
The 45th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) has announced that its co-production market, the Cairo Film Connection is now inviting submissions until August 7, 2023, via the festival’s website.
The festival will take place from November 15-24, 2023 at the Cairo Opera House.
Hussein Fahmy, CIFF’s President, expresses delight to receive new film projects within the Cairo Film Connection programme for the tenth successive year, aiming to support more talented filmmakers in developing their projects.
He said: “We are proud that some of the Arab films participating in this year’s edition of the Cannes Film Festival have been developed and supported by the Cairo Film Connection programmes; such as Kaouther Ben Hania’s Banat Olfa which is taking part at the official competition.”
CIFF director Amir Ramses has also praised the impact of the Cairo Film Connection programme on developing a number of important Arab films in the past nine years. “A number of films have been supported by the CFC have made it to Cannes; like Inshallah Walad which received the CFC award last year, as well as Goodbye Julia was developed within the EAVE ON DEMAND workshop two years ago,” he stated.
Cairo Film Connection director Lynda Belkhiria commented: “The last edition combined important projects and guests. We are hoping that the upcoming edition will be more successful and we are looking forward to supporting more Arab talents’ works to reach international markets.”
Cairo Film Connection is held as part of Cairo Industry Days, the industry platform of the Cairo International Film Festival running in partnership with the Arab Cinema Centre. It brings together industry professionals from around the world to engage in a programme of masterclasses, panel discussions, and events designed to inspire, highlight and support filmmaking talent from the region.
To be eligible for submission to the Cairo Film Connection, projects must be directed by filmmakers of Arab nationality or origin. The project must be a work of feature-length fiction or documentary in the development or post-production stage. The director of the project must have previously directed a minimum of one film, whether short or feature-length.
