The 45th Cairo International Film Festival was initially scheduled for November 2023. However, organizers postponed the event in solidarity with Palestinians shortly after the start of the Israeli war on Gaza in early October of that year.

Passing Dreams (Ahlam Aabera) follows the story of 12-year-old Samy, who lives in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, as he embarks on a journey to find his missing bird.

Samy's adventure takes him through Bethlehem, Jerusalem in the West Bank, to Haifa in Historic Palestine.

The film highlights the complexities of Palestinian daily life under the decades-old Israeli occupation and its impact on their identities and relationships of individuals with others.

It stars Ashraf Barhom, Adel Abu-Ayyash, and Emilia Massou.

Rashid Masharawi

Rashid Masharawi is a Palestinian film director who was born in 1962 in the Al-Shati refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip to a family of refugees from Jaffa in central Historic Palestine.

Masharawi made his first feature film, Curfew, in 1994, followed by Haifa (1996), Arafat, My Brother (2005), and Attente (Waiting, 2005).

Attente was nominated for the Fedeora Award at the Venice Film Festival and scooped a top Golden Unicorn Award at the Amiens International Film Festival, France (2005).

His Laila’s Birthday (2009) earned its lead actor Mohammad Bakir the Best Actor Award at the Carthage Fim Festival (2010).

Masharawi's Letters from Al Yarmouk (2014), Land of the Story (2012), and Al Ajniha Assaghira (2008) scored multiple nominations at the Dubai Film Festival.

Writing on Snow (2017) and From Ground Zero (2024) have also garnered critical praise.

Masharawi currently lives and works in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

He founded the Cinema Production and Distribution Center in 1996 to promote local film productions, among other initiatives to support Palestinian artists.

From Ground Zero
 

In 2024, Masharawi produced a mammoth project, From Ground Zero, combining 22 short films by Gazan filmmakers to tell the untold stories of the Israeli genocidal war on the strip.

The shorts, which are 3 to 6 minutes long, include Nidaa Abou-Hasna’s Out of Frame, Etemad Weshah’s Taxi Wanissa, and Nidal Damo’s All is Fine.

From Ground Zero will be featured in CIFF's new segment, From Zero Distance, which honours Palestinian cinema.