Cairo Francophone Film Festival to Kick Off on Dec.10

The first edition of the Cairo Francophone Film Festival (CFFF) is set to kick off from December 10 to 14, in Cairo.

The festival is held under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and with the participation and support of the international TV5 Monde network.

It aims to improve the taste in movies, to further artistic links between people, to allow meetings between professionals, as well as to build bridges between workers in the field of cinema from different cultures.

The festival also promotes the film industry in Egypt, in the Francophone world, the Arab world, and other countries.

In a statement, film critic Yasser Moheb, the founder and president of the festival, welcomed Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly decision to ease the coronavirus restrictions and allow theatre and film festivals to hold their opening and closing ceremonies in open-air spaces, with their cinema and theatre shows held at 50% occupancy capacity.

Since obtaining the approval of the Ministry of Culture in February to hold the festival, there had been numerous cooperation with cultural and cinematic entities of the member states of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie - which includes 88 countries and governments.

About more than 40 films have been submitted so far since the door for submissions opened in early September.

The festival program includes a competition for feature films produced by Organisation internationale de la Francophonie member states, as well as a competition for French-language films, documentary, and short fiction films.

Moheb noted that the festival management contacted several major film festivals in the Francophone and European countries to exchange experiences in organizing cinematic and artistic events in the open air, in accordance with the international standards set for organizing events and cultural events in periods of pandemics, and the mechanisms for securing cinematic shows and activity in the post-corona era, as a commitment by the management to take all of the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of the participants, guests, and the public.