As the 46th Cairo International Film Festival prepares to unfold from November 12 to 21, anticipation builds around its industry platform, the Cairo Film Connection (CFC), which has just unveiled the projects selected for its 11th edition. Running from November 17 to 20 within Cairo Industry Days, the CFC continues to position itself as a leading co-production and development hub for Arab and international filmmakers. This year’s line-up reflects an ambitious, diverse, and deeply rooted selection of stories, gathering fifteen projects from ten countries at various stages of development and post-production.
Egypt takes center stage with four projects, joined by three from Lebanon, two from Iraq, and two from Palestine, alongside one each from Tunisia, Jordan, Sudan, Algeria, and Yemen. Reflecting the regional reach and international collaborations fostered by the platform, the selection also includes Alicante by Lina Soualem — an Algerian-French co-production presented as part of CFC’s partnership with Amman Industry Days.
The 2025 edition unfolds across three main categories: post-production, in-development non-fiction, and in-development fiction. Among the post-production titles, Egyptian director Maged Nader presents All That the Wind Can Carry, while Jordan’s Hamza Hamid returns with Asphalt. From Iraq, Hayder Helo offers The Colour of Our Time, a co-production with Belgium and Egypt. Lebanese filmmaker Rania Rafei’s The Day of Wrath and Palestinian director Mohanad Yaqubi’s Revolutionaries Never Die, co-produced with Belgium, complete this section, bringing together works that merge political resonance with intimate narratives.
The in-development non-fiction category showcases projects that interrogate belonging, memory, and identity across shifting geographies. Iraqi-British filmmaker Maythem Ridha brings Aman, produced between Iraq, Egypt, the United Kingdom, and Jordan, while Lebanese director Leila Basma explores dance and womanhood in Dance with Me, developed with Czech support. Tunisian-Canadian filmmaker Sarra El Abed joins the line-up with Goodbye Party, and Egypt’s Yomna Khattab introduces I Have Other Friends. From Sudan, Ibrahim Mohamed contributes Where Do I Belong.
Meanwhile, the in-development fiction selection reflects the region’s growing cinematic dynamism and the emergence of distinctive authorial voices. From Yemen, Youssef Assabahi presents Al-Madeeneh 2008, a work evoking the country’s contemporary transformations, while Lebanese filmmaker Ahmad Ghossein develops The Side Effects of Trusting Life, co-produced with Germany and Norway. Egyptian director Mayye Zayed, known for her acclaimed debut Lift Like a Girl, returns with Rainbows Don’t Last Long, alongside her compatriot Randa Ali with Rock Paper Sea. Completing the fiction slate, Palestinian filmmaker Saleh Saadi brings Ping-Pong, a story that captures the nuances of youth and resilience under occupation.
Reflecting on this carefully curated line-up, CFC Director Rodrigo Brum emphasized the depth and diversity of the projects, highlighting both artistic vision and collective creation. “Our selections for the CFC are the result of months of collective work and in-depth viewing,” he said. “What excites me most is that behind every title there is not only a filmmaker with a vision, but also a network of collaborators, communities, and histories that the films bring to light. This year, we wanted to build a lineup that speaks both to the realities of the region and to its capacity for cinematic innovation. I believe these projects will spark meaningful encounters in Cairo and beyond.”
Now in its 11th edition, Cairo Film Connection confirms its growing role as a cornerstone of the Arab film industry — a bridge between local stories and global networks. Each selected project testifies to the vitality of filmmaking in a region that continues to assert its place in international cinema, while Cairo remains, more than ever, a gathering point for those who believe in the power of stories to transcend borders.
Neïla Driss
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