The 43rd edition of the Cairo International Film Festival will be held from December 1 to 10 2021.
The closing ceremony will take place on December 9, and all the prize winning films will screen again on the final day, December 10.
The festival’s president, Egyptian film producer Mohamed Hefzy, said that film festivals have found a way to adapt and survive despite the challenges of COVID-19.
“Film festivals as a lifeline for films and filmmakers that have been affected and challenged by the pandemic, including such threats as disrupted productions, and the closure of theaters throughout much of the world. Very few festivals managed to hold a physical edition, and we are proud to say that Cairo was one of them, setting the bar for an even more successful physical edition this year,” said Hefzy.
This year’s festival will also offer prizes to 15 film projects.
“The festival’s programming team and management are thrilled by the challenge that this upcoming edition offers, and we are eager to present a diverse and rich lin0eup of films and a selection worthy of the festival’s audience that has come to expect more in terms of quality and surprises year after year. During the last three years we did strive to realize our fullest ambitions and utmost success in our offering of programming, and in the various support platforms offered to professionals by Cairo Industry Days, including the Cairo Film Connection which last year offered prizes valued at nearly $250,000 to 15 very different quality projects,” Festival president Mohamed Hefzy said.
Last year’s edition featured 95 films from more than 40 countries, including 20 world and international premieres, and 10 new Egyptian films for the first time in the festival’s modern history
Last year, even during the peaks of COVID-19, the festival had 30,000 ticket sales and 200 foreign guests, though capacity was reduced by 50 per cent. Its panels, workshops, masterclasses and Q&As were also available via Zoom, a feature that hasn’t yet been announced for this year’s festival.
Egyptian superstar Mona Zaki was honored with the Faten Hamama prize for excellence at last year’s event.
The Cairo International Film Festival is the oldest annually running international film festival in Africa and the Middle East, and is one of only 15 film festival worldwide recognized as a competitive category “A” festival by the International Federation of Film Producers FIAPF.
