The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) has unveiled another batch of their selections for the 42nd edition, scheduled to run between 2 and 10 December at several venues, mostly at the Cairo Opera House.
16 films will make their international premieres in Cairo. President of the festival Mohamed Hefzy is proud of his programming team, who have worked hard "to debut a selection of the most anticipated films of the year to the massive audiences of film critics and cinephiles in Cairo," he said in a statement published Tuesday.
The festival s international competition encompasses three titles marking their world premiere, including Mo Er Dao Ga (China) by director Jinling Cao, German Lessons (Bulgaria) by director Pavel G. Vesnakov, and Curfew (Egypt) by Amir Ramses.
The Horizons of Arab Cinema section will also feature two world premieres; the documentary On the Fence (Egypt) by Nesrine El-Zayat, and Had El-Tar (KSA) of Abdelaziz Al-Shlahei.
The program also features the film Autumn of the Apples (Morocco) by Mohamed Mouftaker, in addition to the Special Screenings section s: TV Society (Lebanon) by Robert Cremona, and A Siege Diary (Russia) by Andrei Zeitsev.
In the Midnight Screenings, Sideshow (UK) by Adam Oldroyd will make its world premiere, in addition to Panorama Special s Back to Wharf (China) by Li Xiaofeng.
In Cinema of Tomorrow, three short films will have their world premieres; The Man Who Swallowed the Radio (Egypt) by Yasser Shafaei, I Bit My Tongue (Tunisia, France) by Nina Khada, and Sara Mesfer s The Girls Who Burned the Night (KSA).
In addition to three other international premieres, namely: Isabel (Cuba) by Egyptian Sara Shazly, The Red Spiral (Venezuela) by Lorena Colmenares, and Kurchatov (Russia) of Alexander Korolev.
One of the few major film festivals around the world to take place during the pandemic, this CIFF s challenging edition was rescheduled to ensure safety measures will continue until 10 December, after which the festival will feature virtual activities.
The CIFF is one of the oldest and most prestigious festivals in the Arab world and Africa. It is also the only festival in both regions accredited as category A by the International Federation of Film Producers, alongside 14 other festivals that hold international competitions.
Egypt resumed public cultural activities in July following the COVID-19 lockdown, with all events held under strict safety measures that include social distancing, obligatory face masks, and sanitising. However, this week saw concerns over the noticeable increase in recorded cases in the artistic community.
