The curtain has risen on the new edition of the Cairo International Film Festival — the most important cultural event in the Arab and African region — in a spectacular opening ceremony hosted by the majestic Egyptian Opera House, attended by a constellation of art and cinema stars from Egypt, the Arab world, and beyond, along with cultural figures and ambassadors from numerous countries.
This edition features the screening of more than one hundred films from forty countries around the world, distributed across official competitions, parallel competitions, and special screenings, in a diverse lineup reflecting the creative richness of world cinema and offering Egyptian audiences an open window onto the finest international film productions.
This particular edition marks the centennial of Egyptian cinema, which has contributed to shaping the shared Arab consciousness and produced immortal icons in the history of the seventh art worldwide. Special seminars and screenings have been dedicated to showcasing this long journey filled with creativity and artistic achievement.
Competing in the official competition are films from Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan, France, Italy, Iran, Brazil, and South Korea, in a fair creative contest for the festival’s awards, considered among the most prestigious cinematic honors in the Middle East and Africa region.