The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) has decided to move its 43rd edition to November 26 to December 5, from the previously announced December 1-10 dates. The change is due to the inaugural edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF), which will now take place from December 6-15, 2021.
“The decision to move the festival’s 43rd edition forward came after a thorough examination of the international and Arab film festival agenda,” CIFF said in a statement, “in the hopes that the new dates will allow filmmakers and journalists to attend the various festivals, engage with the latest productions, and cover the various events.”
In addition, Egyptian film critic Andrew Mohsen has been named artistic director of CIFF, working alongside festival president Mohamed Hefzy. Mohsen has worked with Cairo since 2016, serving as the head programmer for three editions of its Cinema of Tomorrow Competition for short films. In 2018, he was the artistic director of the Ismailia Festival for Documentary and Short Films, and in 2020 and 2021, he was the artistic director of the Aswan International Women’s Film Festival.
Mohsen will be joined by film critics Ramy Abdel Razek, the director of the Horizons of Arab Cinema competition, and Ossama Abdel Fattah, the director of the International Critics Week competition. In addition, Marouan Omara has been named director of the short film competition. In contrast, Maggie Morgan has been named programmer for Eastern European films, Rasha Hosny for Asia-Pacific films, and Youssef Hisham for North and South American films.
