Dorra Zarrouk at the 42nd Cairo International Film Festival. Photo: Instagram/ @dorra_zarrouk
The 43rd edition of the Cairo International Film Festival is set to take place from December 1-10, 2021, it was announced this week.
In a statement, festival president Mohamed Hefzy said, “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 lineup 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.
He added.” 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 USD to 15 very different quality projects.”
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Like every year, the festival will also feature the industry-focused Cairo Industry Days and its Cairo Film Connection co-financing event. The 42nd edition of the CIFF witnessed the participation of over 95 films from more than 40 countries, including 20 world and international premieres and ten new Egyptian films for the first time in the festival’s history. Some of the highlights from last year’s CIFF include Egyptian actor Mona Zaki being honored with the Faten Hamama Award for Excellence. Although restrictions were put on the festival’s capacity last year, the ticket sales reached 30,000 and received nearly 200 foreign guests during the 42nd edition.
CIFF remains one of the most prominent festivals in the Middle East and Africa as it is the oldest running annual film festival. In 2019, the event became the first Arab film festival to sign the 5050×2020 gender equality pledge, which is committed to empowering women and raising awareness about issues centered around gender disparity in the Middle Eastern film industry.
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