Furthermore, the LAFF chose Uganda as the country of honour for its 11th edition and will also honour the late Senegalese director Djibril Diop Mambéty and will grant iconic star Hussein Fahmy the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Moreover, it will honour Egyptian singer and actress Huda Sultan, actor Mahmoud Morsi, and Moroccan director and producer Mohamed Ismail.

The LAFF will also pay tribute to Egyptian star Amr Saad and Burkinabe filmmaker Apolline Traoré.

Celebrating African identity as expressed through the seventh art, the festival was launched in 2010 by the Independent Shabab Foundation (ISF) — a non-profit organisation registered at the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

Founded and chaired by scriptwriter Sayed Fouad, the festival’s board includes Mahmoud Hemida, the LAFF’s honorary president, and Azza El-Husseini, the LAFF’s co-founder and executive director.

In its 11th edition, the LAFF will screen 45 films from 35 countries in the competitive segments. 

10 films will be screened within the Long Narratives Competition. The jury of this competition includes director Moussa Touré (Senegal), director Yousry Nasrallah (Egypt), director Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso), critic Kamal Ben Wanas (Tunisia), and actor Jimmy Jean-Louis (Haiti).

The Long Documentaries Competition includes 11 titles, with five renowned filmmakers on its jury — director Katie Needy (Senegal), critic Phoebe Curry (Uganda), director of photography Mahmoud Abdel-Samie (Egypt), director Mohamed Seyam (Egypt), and director Peter Sedovia (Ghana).

Also, a jury consisting of director Khaled El-Haggar (Egypt), director Fatomato Coulibaly (Mali), critic Ahmed Shawqy, director Daoud Wilad Al-Sayed (Morocco), and actress Ghalia Ben Ali (Tunisia) will choose the winner of the Short Films Competition, which includes 15 films.

Furthermore, the festival will present films in the Diaspora Competition, which will screen nine films to a jury consisting of director Rachid Mashharawi (Palestine), producer Doura Bouchoucha (Tunisia), and actor Ahmed Magdi (Egypt).

Additionally, a segment titled ‘Egyptian Panorama’ will screen several films from the country's most recent cinematic repertoire, among them ‘Mama Hamel’ (2021) by Mahmoud Karim, ‘Abu Saddam’ (2021) by Nadine Khan, ‘El-Kahen’ (2021) by Othman Abu Laban, ‘Men Agl Zeko’ (2022) by Peter Mimi, and ‘Hamel El-Lakab’ (2022) by Hesham Fathy.

This year, the LAFF will also launch a new segment called ‘Rediscovering Egypt’, which will focus on awarding the best three videos showing Egyptian landscapes. Those interested can enter the competition through a dedicated hashtag that will be followed by a jury.

Besides film screenings, the LAFF will hold numerous activities such as book signings for a book about Egyptian director Shady Abdel-Salam written by Mervat Kamouni and translated to Arabic by Tunisian director Mahmoud Jemni, and one about a Senegalese director Djibril Diop Mambéty, written by African film expert Férid Boughedir.

A special symposium will also be held presenting the life and work of Hoda Sultan as well as a presentation and signing of a book about the actress written by leading Egyptian film critic Kamal Ramzi.

Moreover, the festival will organise a discussion around a book by critic Ahmed Shawky, who will retrace the biography of Egyptian star Hussein Fahmy.

Other symposia include discussions about empowering women, which is part of the festival’s ‘Factory Project’, which aims to support female directors from Africa and the Middle East.

Founded by the LAFF’s director, Azza El-Husseini, Factory supports a number of long films by young female directors by providing training and support in their work’s development.

Furthermore, a number of workshops will be running throughout the festival, including ones on film directing by Ahmed Rashwan, children’s cinema by Shwikar Khalifa, actors’ preparation by Al-Asaad Al-Jamousi, film posters by Zainab Soubhi, manufacturing heritage boats by Saeed El-Bagouri, theatrical storytelling workshop for women by Eman Shahin, a Mural Drawing Competition by Ahmed Hamdi, and a Children’s Drawing Competition by Wael Nour.

The LAFF will also dedicate a round table on the importance and aesthetics of Egyptian sites to contribute to raising global awareness towards Egypt as an international filming location. 

Additionally, three art exhibitions will be held during the festival — a photographic exhibition, a plastic artists exhibition, and a posters exhibition of the honourees.

The LAFF is organised by the ISF under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministries of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, and Foreign Affairs, with the National Bank of Egypt and other partners.