The competition films will vie for the Golden Pyramid Award, to be presented during the festival’s closing ceremony.
Brazilian filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro’s The Blue Trail will open the 46th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), which runs from November 12 to 21 and will screen more than 100 films across its various sections.
The Brazilian feature will have its Middle East and North Africa premiere at CIFF following its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, where it earned the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize. The film follows 77-year-old Tereza, who defies relocation to a senior housing colony and instead embarks on a journey along the Amazon River to fulfill a final wish before losing her freedom.
This year’s international competition will showcase 14 films, including nine international titles and five from the MENA region. Among the highlights is Once Upon a Time in Gaza, the latest film by Palestinian brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser, which won the Un Certain Regard Best Director Award at Cannes.
Making its world premiere at CIFF is One More Show, a debut documentary from Egyptian filmmaker Mai Saad and Palestinian filmmaker Ahmed Al-Danaf. The film follows the Free Gaza Circus as they bring hope and defiance to war-torn Gaza through their performances.
The competition lineup also features Souraya Mon Amour by Lebanese director Nicolas Khoury, a personal portrait of dancer and actress Souraya Baghdadi reflecting on her life with her late husband, filmmaker Maroun Baghdadi. Other competing films include Maryam Touzani’s Calle Málaga, Morocco’s Oscar submission; Death Does Not Exist by Félix Dufour-Laperrière; Dragonfly by Paul Andrew Williams; and The Things You Kill, Canada’s Oscar submission directed by Alireza Khatami.
The Golden Pyramid Award will be presented at the festival’s closing ceremony on November 21, which will feature Kaouther Ben Hania’s acclaimed docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab, Tunisia’s Oscar submission and winner of the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at Venice.
The main competition jury will be chaired by celebrated Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan, joined by Italian editor Simona Paggi, Chinese director Guan Hu, Egyptian filmmaker Nadine Khan, actress Basma, Tunisian filmmaker Leyla Bouzid, and Romanian director Bogdan Mureșanu.
The festival’s Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition will feature nine films, including the MENA premiere of Iraqi filmmaker Zahraa Ghandour’s debut Flana; Lebanese filmmaker Sarah Francis’s Dead Dog; and two Egyptian world premieres, Complaint No. 713317 by Yasser Shafiey and Pasha’s Girls by Mohamed Al Adl.
Out of competition, CIFF will screen Agnieszka Holland’s Franz, Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend, Christian Petzold’s Mirrors No. 3, which debuted at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, and Radu Jude’s social satire Kontinental ’25.
This year’s festival places a strong emphasis on Palestinian cinema, with multiple films addressing the region’s ongoing struggles. In addition to The Voice of Hind Rajab, Once Upon a Time in Gaza, and One More Show, the programme includes Who Is Still Alive by Nicolas Wadimoff in the Special Screenings section and Habibi Hussein by Alex Bakri in Critics’ Week.
CIFF will also feature a Turkish Spotlight, showcasing eight Turkish films across its sections. Highlights include As We Breathe by Şeyhmus Altun in competition, and Kanto by Ensar Altay, Not What You Think by Vuslat Saraçoğlu, One of Those Days Where Hemme Dies by Murat Fıratoğlu, and We Need to Talk About Dilan by Umut Şilan Oğurlu in the Special Screenings programme.
The 46th edition reaffirms CIFF’s status as a major platform for world cinema, uniting diverse voices and stories from around the globe while spotlighting the vitality of Arab and regional filmmaking.
