The 43rd edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) opened on Friday evening at Egypt’s Cairo Opera House with the participation of about 100 films from over 60 countries.

Running from Nov. 26 to Dec. 5 under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, the 43rd CIFF’s opening ceremony was attended by Egyptian Minister of Culture Inas Abdel-Dayem.

CIFF President Mohamed Hefzy said the festival hosts more films this year than last year as the coronavirus-related restrictions are eased given the success of Egypt’s precautionary measures and the administration of vaccines.

The festival has four main competitions, the top of which is the International Competition for feature fiction and documentary films where 13 works are contesting, including Egypt’s Abu Saddam, France’s Softie, Argentina’s Seven Dogs and Tunisia’s Tomorrow.

The International Competition’s awards include the most prestigious Golden Pyramid Award for Best Film, the Silver Pyramid, Special Jury Award for Best Director and the Bronze Pyramid Award for Best First or Second Work, as well as awards for best actor, best actress, best screenplay and best artistic contribution.

Egyptian veteran film star Hussein Fahmy, who once had been the president of CIFF for four years, said CIFF is a category A international festival and one of the few important film festivals in the world.

As for the International Short Film Competition, it features 22 films including It’s Nothing Nagy, Just Hang up! from Egypt, Poem for a Distant Village from China, Prairie Flowers from Mexico, Skin River from Portugal and Happy Town from Colombia.

Launched in 1976 and recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, CIFF is the oldest annual film festival in the Arab world, Africa and the Middle East.

Source: State Information Service Egypt