From January 9 to 14, 2025, the historic city of Luxor is preparing to welcome the 14ᵉᵎ edition of the Festival du Film Africain de Louxor (Laff), a major event for African cinema. With a rich program of 65 films representing 35 countries, the festival stands out as a showcase of creativity and diversity of the continent.
This diversity is also reflected in the composition of the juries, which will have the heavy task of deciding films in competition, all as promising as each other.
Juries members:
Feature filler competition
Chaired by the Senegalese director Moussa Sène Absa, with the Sudanese director Ibrahim Shaddad for members, the Egyptian screenwriter Tamer Habib, the Algerian director Sofia Djama, and the Ghanaian actress Akosua Busia.
Short films competition
Chaired by Egyptian novelist and screenwriter Ahmed Mourad, accompanied by Moroccan critic Abdelkrim Oukarim, Senegalese critic Najib Sagna, South African director Andrea Fuchs and Sudanese director Amjad Abu Alaa.
African diaspora competition
A trio of experts composes this jury: the producer and distributor Gabriel Khoury (Egypt), the producer and director of Sierra-Léonaise festivals Mahen Bonetti, and the Egyptian director Amir Ramses.
Egyptian student films competition
With Dr Mohamed Chafik, Dr Mona El Saban and Dr Hicham Gamal, this section values the young generation.
Official selections: eclectic programming
The competition brings together various works like:
Feature films
- The Bird of Paradise/Asfour Jenna Directed by Mourad Belcheikh (Tunisia).
- 112 Directed by Joel M’Maka Tchedri (Togo).
- Demba Directed by Mamadou Dia (Senegal).
- Disco Africa Directed by Luc Razanakavana (Madagascar).
- Marriage Directed by Fatou Cissé (Mali).
- For the first time Directed by John Ikram (Egypt).
- Love is king Directed by Heba Yousri (Egypt).
- Trial Directed by Vicky Patterson (Cameroon).
- The man is dead Directed by Awan Mkaba (Nigeria).
- The real stories of the Blida Joinville psychiatric hospital Directed by Abdelnour Zahzah (Algeria).
- Umogani Directed by Jean Kiozi (Rwanda).
Short films
- Ayo Directed by Françoise Ellong-Gomez and Yolande Bonjuila Ekel (Cameroon).
- Chikha Directed by Ayoub El Yousfi and Zahwa Raji (Morocco).
- Reflections Directed by Nanoua Aliju (Nigeria).
- THE Directed by Intissar al-Azhari (Morocco).
- Letters Directed by Ali Ahmed Babiker (Sudan).
- Download Directed by Anis Lassoued (Tunisia).
- Mental crime Directed by William Kojo (Ghana).
- AGUELHOK Directed by Ousmane Samassékou (Mali).
- Here Directed by Hisham Ali Abdel Khaleq (Egypt).
- Protection of the demonstration Directed by Bismarck Aryee (Ghana).
- Quarantine and rest Directed by David Kabale (South Africa).
- Your father probably Directed by Taieb Talba and Sidi Mohamed Talba (Mauritania)
- ABED night Directed by Anis Ejad (Algeria).
African diaspora films
- World campus Directed by Ntavava Yannick Edoh (Benin – Senegal).
- Django: life of a refugee Directed by David Fidel (Australia – Morocco).
- Muzungu Directed by Ben Donatio and Michel Sas à Zilberberg (Switzerland).
- Dahomey Directed by Mati Diop (Senegal).
- The mother vessel Directed by Muriel Cravate (France – Belgium).
Egyptian student films
- My name is dahab Directed by Ahmed Yacoub.
- The germ of the earth Made by Mohamed Hamed Salama.
- The sparrow of sparrows Directed by Ahmed Khalil.
- He plays in my pocket Directed by Antonios Basily.
- Victoria’s secret Directed by Basma Farah Nancy.
- The start of the path Directed by Yohana Achraf.
- Bees plan Directed by Nour Khaled.
- Confused dreamer who dies Directed by Hossam Waleed.
- The life of your loved ones Directed by Ahmed Hamed.
- The Moon of the City Directed by Rim Hijab.
- The astrologer barber Directed by Amro Mostafa and Sara Hijazi.
Official selection out of competition
- Abdalla “ Directed by Ahmed Gamry (Egypt).
- Katsaros Directed by Mohamed El Hadidi (Egypt).
- Full sensory disturbance Directed by Ahmed Hussein (Egypt).
- Metanoia Directed by Jacinta Barros (Mozambique).
- Port of time Directed by Sara Elias (Egypt).
Palestinian film panorama
- No directed by Hana Aloue and extract from the anthology film Ground Zero
- Short film on children Directed by Ibrahim Handhal.
- On the sea Directed by Wissam Al Jafari.
- Bethlem Directed by Ibrahim Handhal.
Tributes: celebration of emblematic figures
The festival pays tribute to:
- Khaled El Nabawy (Egyptian actor)
- Magdy Ahmed Ali (Egyptian director)
- Ahmed Hafiane (Tunisian actor)
- Akosua Busia (Ghanaian actress and director)
- Moussa Sène Absa (Senegalese director)
The films screened in their honor will include: The citizen (2012), The emigrant (1994), The dealer (2010), and A day and a night (2020) by Khaled El Nabawy, Nile birds (2009) by Magdy Ahmed Ali, Xalé, childhood injuries (2022) by Moussa Sène Absa, and Stevie Wonder: looking for a blessed life (2024) Directed by Akosua Busia.
Dedicated edition: special tribute
This 14ᵉ edition, which will bear the name of the very large Egyptian actor Nour El Sherif, in commemoration of the 10ᵉ anniversary of his disappearance, is dedicated to several major figures of cinema:
- Safie Faye (First Senegalese director recognized internationally).
- Med Hondo (Mauritanian director).
- Atef Beshay (Egyptian screenwriter).
- Tayeb Saddiki (Moroccan director and actor).
- Khemais Khayati (Tunisian critic)
- Choukri Sarhan (legendary Egyptian actor), celebrating the centenary of his birth.
Their contribution to the seventh art will be celebrated through special projections and discussions on their inheritance.
Festival publications
The festival will publish several books this year, in particular:
- Pioneer of African Cinemain Arabic and French, dedicated to Senegalese director Safie Faye. Written by Nadjibo Sanya, presented by Thierno Dia, translated by Sherif Awad.
- Nour El Sherif: a reading of the teacher’s journeywritten by Gamal Abdel Kader in collaboration with Nefertiti editions.
- Son of the Nilea book dedicated to Choukri Sarhan, written by Samah Fathy.
- A new ceiling for creativityon Khaled El Nabawy, written by Ayman El-Hakim.
Workshops as part of the local development program
Several workshops will be organized to enrich the skills of the participants:
- Cinematographic critic with Rami Abdel Razeq.
- Acting with Ahmed Mokhtar.
- Cinematographic production with Khaled El Hagar.
- Film with a mobile phone with Dr Mohamed Chafik.
- Interactive assessment with Haitham Shoukry.
- Animation for children with Dr Wael Nour.
- Online cinema education with Dr Mona El Saban.
- Cinematographic editing with Mohamed Ghoneim.
- Principles of writing scenarios with Dr Dalia Bassiouni.
- Creation of jewelry and textile printing with Dr Riha Abdel Rahman.
- Children’s cinema with Chwikar Khalifa.
- Elements of cinematographic art with Dr Ashraf Tawfik.
Forum on the future of film festivals in the digital age
The festival will inaugurate a special forum on January 11 and 12, entitled “The future of African festivals in the era of digitization”.
This forum constitutes a space for collaboration and exchange of ideas between filmmakers, festival directors and experts. Among the participants are:
- Azeddine Jriran, president of the Khouribga festival in Morocco
- Gaby Khoury, producer and distributor
- Andrea Voges, programmer and director of the Durban Festival
- Mahen Bonetti, director of the New York African Film Festival
- Charaf Eddine Zine Eddine, president of the Dakhla International Festival
- Mohamed Monji, producer and chief editor in Al Jazeera
- Sherif Mandour, producer and distributor
- Essam Zakaria, director of the Cairo Cinema Festival
- Antonio Flamini, director of the African Film Festival in Rome
- Orkia Toubarou, Fespaco representative (Burkina Faso)
The forum discussions will be led by the critic Andrew Mohsen.
The forum will focus on the use of technologies to support the African film industry and strengthen its role on a global scale. Its objective is to debate challenges and opportunities, and take concrete measures to promote the evolution of African cinema, while increasing its visibility and influence on the international scene.
Main themes addressed
Director Azza El Hosseiny, Forum and Festival director, said the discussions will focus on several axes:
- The exploration of digital tools in film production.
- The strengthening of collaboration between African filmmakers.
- The questions of intellectual property in the era of artificial intelligence.
- The empowerment of young people through trainers’ training programs (TOT).
Innovations covered
Azza El Hosseiny also indicated that affordable digital tools will be examined to make cinematographic production accessible to all, such as mounting applications and new narrative techniques. The forum aims to allow filmmakers to produce high quality content with limited budgets.
Another key theme will be “Social networks and interaction with the public”which will highlight the importance of social platforms as an essential tools to directly touch spectators, bypassing traditional distribution channels.
Finally, the subject “The sustainable cinema power” will explore how African cinema documents shared cultural and human identity, using the art of narrative to create timeless links.
The screenwriter Sayed Fouad, president of the festival, stressed that the forum aims to go beyond the simple debates to adopt concrete actions in favor of African cinema, in order to ensure its lasting impact on a local and international level. Practical themes, such as digital marketing strategies and intellectual property rights in the digital age, will be addressed.
Neïla Driss
