The undeniable highlight of Egypt’s presence at the 75th Cannes Film Festival is Aisha Can't Fly Away.
Written and directed by Morad Mostafa, the film screens in the Un Certain Regard section.
This section is one of the festival’s most prestigious programmes, launched in 1978 to spotlight films with unique storytelling, innovative style, and fresh perspectives. It often highlights emerging filmmakers or bold, non-traditional cinema worldwide.
The film follows Aisha, a 26-year-old Somali woman living and working in Ain Shams, a working-class neighbourhood in east Cairo that has welcomed many African refugees in recent years.
Mostafa, Mohammad Abdulqader, and Sawsan Yusuf co-wrote the script.
The film stars Buliana Simona, Emad Ghoneim, Mamdouh Salah, and Egyptian rapper Ziad Zaza.
The film won the €5,000 top prize for Best Film in post-production at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, where the jury described it as “a powerful and authentic story filled with the environment’s challenges and complexities.”
Another highlight is Life After Siham (La vie après Siham) by Namir Abdel Messeeh, a French-Egyptian co-production.
The film is part of the ACID (Association for the Distribution of Independent Cinema) programme, a parallel Cannes section launched in 1993 by a French filmmakers’ collective.
This year’s ACID line-up includes six fiction features and three documentaries, all co-produced by a French entity. Life After Siham follows Abdel-Messeeh’s journey through grief after the death of his mother.
In the film, he sets out to revive her memory through cinema—using the medium not only as a tool for remembrance but also as a means of bringing her back to life.
As the process unfolds, he discovers that cinema can transcend memory, becoming a vessel for expressing love and honouring the fleeting beauty of life.
Eagles of the Republic by Egyptian-Swedish filmmaker Tarik Saleh, screening in the Official Competition, is also featured, though it is not an Egyptian production.
Saleh is known for Boy from Heaven (2022), which also competed for the Palme d’Or, and The Nile Hilton Incident (2017), inspired by the murder of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim in Dubai.
His latest film is produced entirely by European companies from Sweden, France, Denmark, and Finland.
Egypt leads nominations at Cannes Critics Awards for Arab Films
Established by the Arab Cinema Center, the Critics Awards for Arab Films honour the best in Arab cinema, with nominations decided by a panel of international film critics.
Two Egyptian films—Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo and Voy! Voy! Voy!—are frontrunners at the 9th edition.
Khaled Mansour directed Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo in his feature debut.
The poignant drama explores guilt, redemption, and the human-animal bond.
The film, which premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, follows Hassan, a man trying to protect his beloved dog from a hostile landlord. Inspired by a true story, the narrative explores themes of loyalty and societal struggles.
It has been nominated for Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Essam Omar), Best Actress (Rakeen Saad), and Best Editing (Yasser Azmy).
Voy! Voy! Voy!, directed by Omar Hilal, is a satirical dramedy about Hassan, a security guard who pretends to be visually impaired to join a blind football team aiming to qualify for a European World Cup.
The film is nominated for Best Actor (Mohamed Farrag) and Best Editing (Ahmed Hafez).
Voy! Voy! Voy! previously won the Jury and Audience Awards at the Split Mediterranean Film Festival and was named Best Egyptian Film of 2023 by the Egyptian Film Critics Association.
Egypt’s submission for the Oscar’s Best International Feature Film category was not nominated.
The cast includes Farrag, Bayoumi Fouad, Nelly Karim, Taha Desouki, Amgad El-Haggar, Hanan Youssef, Mohamed Abdel-Azim, and Hagag Abdel-Azim, with a special appearance by Passant Shawky.
Egyptian Pavillon
Beyond film screenings, Egypt will also participate through Al-Mahrousa, an official national pavilion at the 2025 Cannes Film Market.
The pavilion, marking its return after a decade-long absence, is a joint initiative of the Cairo International Film Festival, the El Gouna Film Festival, and the Egypt Film Committee.
“The Egyptian Pavilion represents a vital hub, bringing together filmmakers, producers, distributors, and other industry professionals to collaborate, exchange ideas, and generate opportunities,” Nahed Nasr writes in Al-Ahram Weekly.
The pavilion's revival is seen as a key step in restoring Egypt’s cinematic influence and strengthening international collaborations.
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