Sameh Alaa's short film ‘I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face’ will compete for an award during the 2nd Annual Toronto Arab Film Festival which will take place between 27 and 30 May 2021, with films screened online.

I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face focuses on a young man, Adam, who embarks on a tough journey to reunite with his lover after 82 days of separation.

The film was co-written by Alaa and Mohamed Fawzy.

The film had its major success at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded the Palme d’Or. It was also nominated to many other recognitions, winning the Best Arab Film award at El-Gouna Film Festival (2020), and a prize at the Moscow International Film Festival (2020).

I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face stars Nourhan Ahmed and Seif Hemeda.

The Toronto Arab Film Festival is the first festival of its kind in Toronto, focused on presenting and promoting pan-Arab films by Arab filmmakers from all over the world.

In the festival's first edition (10 - 19 September 2020), Egyptian feature-length documentary ‘Lift Like a Girl’, directed by Mayye Zayed, had its world premiere, followed by numerous awards garnered by the film and its director.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all screenings, panels, and workshops included in the 2nd Toronto Arab Film Festival are virtual. The viewers can access more details about the programming from the festival's website.

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