CIFF to Participate at Cannes Film Festival

Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) is participating in three events at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, taking place May 16-27.

CIFF president Hussein Fahmy and the CIFF director Amir Ramses will travel to the French city to represent the festival at Cannes Film Festival's Marché du Film, running from May 16-24.

On May 21: The festival is presenting and endorsing director Talal Selhami’s under-production film "The Shelter," as part of the Cannes Film Market’s Fantastic 7 initiative.

On May 24: CIFF - in cooperation with WorkPlace Options and Sane Cinema- will support a workshop titled "Prioritizing Wellbeing at Work: Sparking the Conversation amongst Festivals," as part of the Festivals Hub activities.

In association with the Festivals Hub, CIFF is supporting this year’s "Festivals Mixer" networking event- that will be held on the same day - where some of the world’s most prestigious festival representatives, filmmakers, producers, and distributors are gathering to connect with other festivals and markets.

Veteran actor Hussein Fahmy, also president of the CIFF, said “We are proud for CIFF’s first official partnership with the Festival Hub’s networking event. We are looking forward for further cooperation in the upcoming editions.”

The festival director Amir Ramses commented, “The partnership with Fantastic 7 is a very important step that aims to enrich genre cinema in the Arab World, especially as international festivals are focusing on author’s films”.

“Our partnership in the festivals’ industry workshop for wellbeing reflects our mission to search for solutions for the current challenges and to create a healthier work environment,” he added.

Festivals Hub is an exclusive program and venue within the Cannes Film Market, specifically designed to welcome and connect festival and market directors, programmers & industry leaders.

Cairo International Film Festival has recently opened submissions for the upcoming 45th edition (15-24 November). The submission process is officially open to requests from all over the world starting from 15 April 2023 until August 1 2023 through the festival’s website. 

CIFF is one of the oldest and most regular festivals in the Arab world and Africa. It acquires its unique status by being the only festival in the Arab and African region registered under Category “A” in the International Federation of Producers in Paris (FIAPF).

Contributed by Yara Sameh