The Cairo International Cinema Festival, through its Horizons of Arabic cinema competition to be held from November 13 to 22, 2024, highlights the talent of the Arab world with a varied selection of films from various cultures and approaching a wide range of subjects and styles. This year, the festival offers a captivating showcase of powerful voices of contemporary Arab cinema, offering spectators a unique overview of current concerns in the region.
The jury of this edition brings together recognized personalities from the film sector, with Enzo Porcelli, Italian producer, Tamer Karawan, Egyptian composer, and Hind Al Fahhad, Saudi director and screenwriter.
Among this rich selection, three Tunisian films, or directed by a Tunisian or co -produced by Tunisia, particularly hold our attention, reflecting the commitment and creativity of Tunisian cinema in the Arab panorama.
List of films in competition “horizons of Arabic cinema”:
1 – The Bridge/Le Pont, Directed by Walid Mattar
Country: Tunisia, France | Fiction | 2024 | 90 min
The bridge Explore the contemporary reality of young Tunisians in the face of difficult choices. The film follows Fouad, a budding director, who finds himself involved in a risky situation when he decides with his friend Tita to sell cocaine discovered during the shooting of a musical clip. Their decision trains them in a series of adventures in Tunis, where they cross the bridge every evening to sell their products. This feature film plunges into the contradictions of a disillusioned youth, while highlighting the Tunisian urban dynamics. Also selected to Carthage’s cinematographic days, he wears the brand of Walid Mattar, known for his attentive gaze on the social transformations of the region.
2 – The Blue Lake (World premiere), directed by Daoud Oulad Sayed
Country: Morocco | Fiction | 2024 | 85 min
Youssef, a twelve-year-old boy, orphan and blind, lives with his grandparents in an isolated village in the desert. One day, his grandfather surprises him by buying him a camera. Thereafter, Youssef begins to photograph everything around him, and he goes on a trip to the blue lake in the desert. What will Youssef do?
3 – The life that remains (World first), produced and produced by Dorra Zarrouk
Country: Egypt | Documentary | 2024 | 79 min
In this first film as a director, the Tunisian actress Dorra Zarrouk makes her debut behind the camera with a documentary touching on resilience. She follows Nadine, a mother from Gaza, who takes refuge in Egypt with her two children, born shortly before a devastating war. While waiting to find her husband, Nadine is faced with the uncertainty and the harsh reality of exile.
The life that remains will also be projected to the Carthage Cinematographic Days.
4 – Who’d Believe it?, Directed by Zeina Abdel-Baqi
Country: Egypt | Fiction | 2024 | 120 min
To escape the void in which she is, Nadine meets a young crook called Bassem, who offers her a form of love and attention that she lacks. Nadine joins Bassem in scams that both lead them in many problems, putting their love story and other things to the test.
5 – Gazan Tales, Directed by Mahmoud Nabil Ahmed
Country: Palestine, Tunisia | Documentary | 2024 | 82 min
Gazan Tales offers an immersion in the heart of the Gaza strip through the stories of four men with different trajectories but connected by a common quest in a daily newspaper. In co -production with Tunisia, this documentary captures fragments of life and explores the various facets of existence, love and perseverance in an often hostile environment.
6 – Hlesproduced by Abdul Mohsen al-Dababaaan
Country: Saudi Arabia | Fiction | 2024 | 143 min
The life of Turki and Rakan, two brothers each living in a city distant from each other, is turned upside down after their mother Fatima was robbed at home and fell into a coma.
7 – Land of revenge (Premiere Internationale), directed by Anis Jaad
Country: Algeria | Fiction | 2024 | 96 min
After spending five years in prison for a case of corruption, Jamal is released. He feels lost after his wife sold their luxury apartment, emptied their bank accounts and disappeared with their only son. Jamal returns to the village where he was born, where he expects unexpected discoveries on his past.
8 – Holidays in Palestine (World Premiere), directed by Maxime Lindon
Country: Palestine, France | Documentary | 2024 | 60 min
Shadi, a 30 -year -old activist, returns to Palestine after having become a French citizen, looking for hope. But all around him seems to suffocate, and his desire to flee revives.
9 – Madaniyadirected by Mohamed Sobhi Soudan | Documentary | 2024 | 75 min
Three young Sudanese are fighting to change their lives when the country undergoes great changes during the Sudanese revolution which started on December 19, 2018. What has the future holds?
10 – Salmadirected by JOUD SAID
Country: Syria | Fiction | 2024 | 108 min
Alone, Salma tries to find a solution to her problems after the disappearance of her husband, finally finding herself in front of two choices: to continue the fight until the end, with all that that implies sacrifices, or to choose her own salvation with her family.
11 – Arzémade by Mira Chieir
Country: Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia | Fiction | 2024 | 90 min
A hardworking mother steals her sister’s bracelet to buy a motorcycle for her son, so that he can deliver her pies, his only source of income. When the motorcycle is stolen, the mother decides to train her son through Beirut in search of her. To blend into each district, she disguises herself and changes her accent in order to find the motorcycle.
12 – A State of Passion: Ghassan Abu Sittah, Directed by Carol Mansour and Mouna Khalidi
Country: Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, United Kingdom, Kuwait | Documentary | 2024 | 90 min
This poignant documentary follows Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, a Palestinian doctor devoted to his humanitarian commitment in Palestine.
13 – Diaries from Lebanondirected by Mariam El Hajj
Country: Lebanon, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia | Documentary | 2024 | 110 min
In the form of intimate newspapers, the director tells of four tumultuous years of the life of a nation living in chaos, fighting to free herself from her chains. While the country is shaken by troubles, how can we continue to dream when the world collapses around us?
14 – Al-Suwaidi High Schoolproduced by Hicham Fathi, Abdullah Bamajbour and Osama Saleh
Country: Saudi Arabia | Fiction | 2024 | 131 min
In a new initiative, Shahin Dabka, director of the Al-Suwaidi high school, decides to create a law class, especially with students with rebellious behavior. Shahin experiences paternal feelings towards these students and bets on them to overcome the challenges posed by the pressure of his brother and the decisions of the school’s board of directors. He must therefore obtain tangible results or abandon this experience.
