One of the most popular additions to the Cairo International Film Festival has been the Cairo Industry Days, returning for its 11th edition this year. Its strategic vision: to deepen industry networks, elevate regional filmmaking, and strengthen Egypt’s role as a production and co-production hub. This year sees a significantly expanded market and new international collaborators.
Programmer, writer, and critic Mohamed Sayyed Abdel Rahim heads the Cairo Industry Days for the second year. This round, says Abdel Rahim, the role of the Industry Days is two-fold: providing content for the general public, and providing specialized content. Its aim is to develop the film industry and filmmakers in Egypt and the Arab world and connect them with the film industry globally.
The Film Verdict: This is the 11th edition of Cairo Industry Days. What did you feel needed to be developed or expanded this year?
Mohamed Sayed Abdel Rahim: Regarding the workshops, they are strongly related to our ideas and our vision this year. This vision was based on three things, which I stated at the press conference. First, technology. The festival is interested in technology, which is why we created a new section for XR (Extended Reality). We are interested in the Industry Days in XR, AI (Artificial Intelligence), and Digital Restoration technology. Also, I always think that festival programmers underestimate genre films, although I believe the most important films in cinema history are often genre films, not the dramas that programmers usually appreciate more.
Second is re-establishing Egyptian cinema’s role. We are continuing last year’s vision of reaffirming Egyptian cinema’s prominent position amidst the challenges that have occurred recently, especially from neighboring countries. I believe the Egyptian industry is resilient and capable of proving itself as the most important cinema industry in the entire region, as we have the best filmmakers, both in front of and behind the camera. We also shouldn’t forget that the Egyptian state, especially with the establishment of the Egyptian Film Commission, provides great support and facilitates many things for the shooting of foreign films in Egypt, whether they are films, series, commercials, video clips, or even videos for famous YouTubers.
Third is making Cairo a hub. We aim for Egypt and Cairo to become a hub between the North and South, linking Africa, Asia, and Latin America with Europe and North America. Last year, I was the programmer for Africa and Latin America, so I had this plan in mind. Also, Arab cinema and projects always rely on co-production with Europeans. But with the issues related to the Ukrainian-Russian war, there was an economic problem that prevented European producers from co-producing, and they became saturated with projects. So, we are trying to find other interested parties, whether from Africa, Asia, or Latin America. We even refreshed the list for Europe, personally contacting people who could point us to those interested in Arab cinema, including institutions like the European Film Commission and others.
TFV: Cairo Pro-Meet is new this year and uses one-on-one expert sessions. What is the main objective?
Mohamed Sayed: The Cairo Pro-Meet programme is a networking program for the transfer of expertise and cooperation between individuals and entities. My vision for creating it was that many filmmakers, especially the emerging and promising, and the intermediate, and even some professionals, don’t know about the people and entities that can help them achieve their projects, or they don’t know how to reach them. So, we bring experts and representatives of these entities to meet them here in Cairo. I think we are fulfilling a dream for many people. The program was generating excitement even before it started.
TFV: This year’s Cairo Film Connection (CFC) supports 16 projects in the development and post-production stages. Did you notice any common themes or trends among these projects?
Mohamed Sayed: Regarding the CFC, this year we have an approximate split—which rarely happens—of 50% fiction and 50% non-fiction. Most of the time it is two-thirds fiction. But due to the various events happening in the region in recent years (Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, Yemen), there was a strong tendency toward documenting reality and the filmmakers’ relationship with their surroundings. This was a noticeable theme in the 16 projects we selected.
We are continuing the strategy we set last year: 50% of the projects are given the “last push” to ensure their completion, and 50% are completely new projects that haven’t received any prior funding. This is based on our vision to cultivate specific talents for the festival. I always think that things come in an ascending way: someone comes to a workshop, becomes promising, then gets a project, maybe we screen their film the next year, maybe they become a jury member the year after that, and after 10 years they might become an important figure whom we honor. So, we are adopting talents in the festival to be the talents we believe in for the coming years.
TFV: Among this year’s seminars is a discussion on mental health (for filmmakers and the audience), a topic not often raised institutionally in Egypt. Could you tell us about the importance of these seminars in the program?
Mohamed Sayed: There is interest this year in mental health and intense scenes coordinators, because recently there has been a [worldwide discussion] of this, even in Egypt. This covers the difficult scenes in front of and behind the camera, and how actors and the crew can deal with these difficult scenes on a physical and psychological level. The workshops are designed to create a supportive filmmaking environment, aiming to explore the craft of directing challenging and sensitive material, integrating intense scene coordination, mental health awareness, and trauma-informed directing to help filmmakers create safe, authentic, and impactful scenes.
TFV: Are there certain initiatives that you are excited about this year?
Mohamed Sayed: One initiative I’m betting on is the book that we’ve created specifically for this year, which is divided into two parts. Part One is the history of the Cairo Film Connection over the past ten editions. This was a tremendous challenge to gather from the festival’s archives. We collected everything related to the CFC since the first year, including an analysis and a presentation of the most important films that went to international festivals and won awards. The CFC has supported over 150 films over 10 years, about 60 of which were made and screened at various festivals.
Part Two is about the Egyptian cinema industry over the last five years, covering various statistics, revenues, box office, tickets, viewership—everything related to the industry. It includes statistics with infographics and different tables, and an analysis of the film industry in the last five years. We made this book in Arabic and English because I want it to be a document for those interested, whether Egyptians, Arabs, or foreigners. When I travel, I always find that no one knows anything about Egyptian cinema, even though it is actually the oldest and most important cinema in the region.
