Lighting up the majestic grounds of the Cairo Opera House once again following last year’s cancellation due to the horrors of the Israel-Gaza war, the 45th edition of Cairo International Film Festival found a fruitful balance between serious subjects and glitzy red-carpet parties, lively masterclass debates and buzzy industry events, all sweetened with a sidebar of lovingly restored Egyptian screen classics.
The jury, headed by Bosnian Oscar-winner Danis Tanovic, awarded the main Golden Pyramid prize to Romanian director Bogdan Muresanu’s The Year That Never Came, a dark comedy about the dying days of Soviet Communism, which has acquired an extra air of grim relevance in the age of Putin. Other main prizes went to an impressively global spread of films form Turkey, China, Italy, Brazil, Russia and beyond. But this was mostly a banner year for local and regional films from Africa, the Middle East and Egypt itself.
Taking home four prizes was the only Egyptian film in the main competition, Noha Adel’s Spring Came Laughing, a boisterous and emotionally rich anthology of female-driven stories set in Cairo. But a bolder statement was Bassam Mortada’s triple prize-winner Abo Zaabal 89, a personal odyssey about the lingering scars of political activism in contemporary Egypt. Drawing on the imprisonment of the director’s own father, among others, Mortdada’s investigation of trauma and torture in Egyptian prisons during the 1980s must have been a difficult entry into this year’s line-up, with back and forth discussions between the festival and the censorship committee. Tellingly, the film was only included in the very last days before opening.
Eight years after Tamer El Said’s highly sensitive ode to Cairo, In the Last Days of the City, was mysteriously dropped from the CIFF competition, Abo Zaabal 89 marks a significant development for the festival’s programming team and new artistic director Essam Zakaria, who reportedly had similar tensions with the censorship committee when he headed the Ismailia Film Festival for short films and documentaries. This win is important, especially as last month El Gouna festival dropped the opening short film, Abdelwahab Shawky’s The Last Miracle, amid reports it had not been cleared by censors. Mortada dedicated his award to this film and all Egyptian film-makers.
Palestine was inevitably a major theme at CIFF this year. With the Gaza conflict ongoing, the organizers elected to take a more outspoken cultural stand after last year’s cancellation. This was evident even before opening night, as festival president Hussein Fahmy confirmed the event will not be sponsored by companies on the popular boycotted list over their alleged support for Israel. In a press release, Fahmy said: “we took a firm position by boycotting any companies or entities on the boycott list, reaffirming our unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause. This commitment remains central to our festival, and no challenge will change that.”
This sentiment was also reflected in the film program, which included many productions and stores from Palestine and Gaza. The opening film was Passing Dreams by Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi, which also competed in the international competition, reinforcing this theme of solidarity. With two juries focussed on Palestinian cinema, the festival also awarded multiple prizes to State of Passion by Carol Mansour and Muna Khalid, an intensely moving documentary about British-Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a courageous war surgeon who has worked extensively in Gaza. A special prize was also awarded to Abu-Sittah himself.
Among guests, press and general ticket-buyers, the festival’s box office remains the biggest source of complaints, with long lines, broken servers and other obstacles. A minor yet crucial issue that should be on the agenda for Fahmy and Zakaria, after their contract gets renewed by the Ministry of Culture, is regulating invitations for the premieres of Egyptians films, which were often impossible to attend after production companies bought bulk orders of tickets for film crew, families, friends and celebrities. Tension over people trying get into these overcrowded Egyptian premieres was witnessed by The Film Verdict.
The Cairo Classics program was of the most successful sections this year, hosting several sold-out screenings of vintage Egyptian films that are known by heart to many of the audience, but this was still a rare chance to see them in newly restored versions. For various reasons, much of Egypt’s rich cinematic heritage – the oldest in the region and on the continent, and one of the oldest in the world – has been lost, privatized, or sold off to different entities, both foreign and local. Access to popular beloved films had become increasingly difficult, and online copies are often of poor quality, so this festival-led restoration wave is very promising.
Also welcome were signs of the festival becoming more inclusive and diverse this year. Cairo Industry Days (CID) emphasized a desire to open the platform to all film-makers, from art-house creators to commercial and blockbuster producers. A key collaboration was with the Egyptian Chamber of Cinema, representing local film-making companies. Many members were initially surprised by the invitation, as the festival has traditionally focused on a niche audience. This year’s approach could be a healthy step towards broader participation.
The Film Verdict also attended several screenings outside the Opera House complex, where the majority of the festival is based: in VOX cinemas, both in big shopping malls on 6th of October City (Southwest of Cairo) and Nasr City (East Cairo), as well as Zamalek Cinema and the American University in Cairo, both in Downtown. The VOX crowd obviously included festival guests but also typical mall-goers who typically see Hollywood blockbuster films. This marks a much-needed demographic expansion beyond the gated walls of the Opera House, as a large proportion of the Egyptian population continue to mistakenly think film festivals are exclusive invite-only red carpet events. More of this city-wide inclusion would be very welcome in future.
The youthful demographic was also a striking feature in Cairo this year. Walking into the Opera House during the box office rush before noon, it was impossible to miss the high number of young audience members chatting about favorite films, attending short film marathons, and even posing with festival posters. This is a very positive sign that Cairo is broadening its appeal to many more young cinephiles, future film-makers, and (yes) even critics.
