Photo: Instagram.com/cairofilms
The Cairo International Film Festival, which was set to take place from November 15 – 24, has been postponed indefinitely due to the current situation in the region.
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, the festival organizers announced the decision, stating that, “Minister of Culture Dr. Neven El-Kelany has decided to postpone the 45th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival, which was scheduled to take place from Nov 15 to 24. The new date for the festival will be determined later.” However, a report from Variety later claimed that the press office subsequently specified that the postponement actually amounted to a de facto cancellation.
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The announcement comes in the wake of a string of cancellations and postponements around the region, with Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival also rescheduled from October 27 to November 2 instead of the original run from October 13 – 20. Cairo International Film Festival is widely regarded as a pinnacle of the Arab film industry as the oldest running festival in the Middle East and Africa. It is also the only festival in the region to be accorded category “A” status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in Paris (FIAPF).
Last year, the event launched with a ceremony at the Cairo Opera House with actors, directors, and celebrities from 52 different countries in attendance. 58 of the 97 participating films last year were from the MENA region, while Steven Spielberg’s title The Fablemans opened the festival.
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