Egyptian film Aisha Can’t Fly Away supported by Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Foundation has made history at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival.
Aisha Can’t Fly Away
Filmmaker Morad Mostafa’s feature debut Aisha Can’t Fly Away has become the first Egyptian movie to win the La Biennale di Venezia Prize at Final Cut in Venice. The award? A US $5,000 prize to help see the film through post-production, and aid in market access. Aisha Can’t Fly Away also had a successful journey through the festival, having already won a total of five awards.
The jury for the prize comprised of Wayne Borg from Neom, Monica Ciarli from Minerva Pictures, and Dennis Ruh, the former director of the European Film Market. A statement from the jury commended the film for its “powerful and authentic” storytelling, as well as Mostafa’s direction: “Despite being a first feature film, it showcased confident direction and a distinct cinematic voice. The film’s gritty realism, attention to detail, and impactful storytelling left a strong impression on us.”
The film tells the story of a 26-year-old Somali caregiver named Aisha, who resides in a Cairo neighborhood populated by African migrants. After she becomes involved with an Egyptian gang, she is forced to steal from her elderly patients while her life falls apart around her.
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Other films to win awards in La Biennale di Venezia Prize at Final Cutt include three more that the Red Sea Film Foundation has funded These include Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Siam’s My Father’s Scent, Lebanese director Nadim Tabet’s In This Darkness I See You, and Mosotho screenwriter and film director Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s Ancestral Visions of the Future.
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