Cairo International Film Festival opens

The 43rd edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) recently opened at Egypt’s opera house in the Zamalek in the capital. The event, which is the oldest of its kind in the region saw a veritable host of celebrities descend upon the red carpet for the opening.

The 43rd Cairo International Film Festival will witness nine world premieres in the features category and 17 world premieres and five international premieres in the short films category. CIFF opened on November 26 and will run until December 5.

Expectedly, the organisers have taken every precaution to ensure the safety of the participants and have strict health protocols in place.

The opening night was attended by the leading film personalities in the region and beyond. While the Gouna Film Festival is arguably more youthful, CIFF is known to draw a larger crowd of seasoned actors and filmmakers from the Middle East and North Africa.

In attendance this year were names such as veteran actor Sherif Mounir, Mona Zaki, Fifi Abdou, Laila Elwi, Fatima Albanawi, Mahera Abdelaziz and Salmaa Budeif. The event is also the only one of its kind from to region to receive ‘A’ rating from International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) in Paris.