Luxor African Film Festival reveals films, jury for its 14th edition

Hani Mustafa , Sunday 22 Dec 2024

The organisers of the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF) revealed the selection of films and jury members for the festival's upcoming 14th edition, scheduled to take place between 9 and 15 January 2025.

Luxor African Film

 

Founded in 2012 by screenwriter Sayed Fouad (LAFF's president), filmmaker Azza El-Husseini (LAFF's managing director), and the Independent Young Artists Foundation, the Luxor African Film Festival is an important cultural bridge between artists and cinephiles of the black continent.

For almost one and a half decades, the LAFF has proven to be one of the events that asserts the importance of Egypt's cultural ties and its strategic depth on the African continent.

During a press conference last Friday, the LAFF's honourary president, Mahmoud Hemeida, referred to the 14th edition, saying that "the number 14 signifies "more experience, maturity and development within the festival's rule and purpose."

In return, Fouad mentioned that this edition's slogan is inspired by the 14th night of the Arabic month, a night glorified in popular culture for the beauty of the full moon.

He added that the festival's poster, which includes those ideas, was designed by the prominent Egyptian artist Mohamed Abla.

El-Husseini then announced the launch of the LAFF Forum, which will be titled "The Future of African Film Festivals in the Digital Era." The forum will cover topics such as digital marketing, intellectual property rights in the digital era, and cost-effective tools for producing films. 

This edition is named after the late Egyptian film star Nour El-Sherif (1946-2015), with a special dedication to the memory of renowned African artists: Moroccan actor and filmmaker Tayeb Saddiki (1939-2016), Egyptian writer Atef Beshai (1951-2024), Mauritanian filmmaker Med Hondo (1936-2019), and Senegalese filmmaker Safi Faye (1943-2023).

The festival will also honour five renowned names from African cinema: Egyptian actor Khaled El-Nabawy, Senegalese filmmaker Moussa Sene Absa, Ghanaian actress and filmmaker Akosua Busia, Tunisian actor Ahmed Hafiane, and Egyptian filmmaker Magdy Ahmed Aly. 

The LAFF includes the long film competition, short film competition, films from the diaspora, and student films.

The titles competing in those segments are are follows:



Long Film Competition


A Bird from Paradise, directed by Mourad Ben Cheikh (Tunisia)
Cent Douze (One Hundred and Twelve) by Joël M'maka Tchedre (Togo) 
Demba by Mamadou Dia (Senegal)
Disco Afrika: A Malagasy Story by Luck Razanajaona (Madagascar)
Furu by Fatoli Cissé (Mali)
For the First Time by John Ikram (Egypt)
Al-Hawa Sultan by Heba Yousry (Egypt)
Sans Jugement by Vicky Patterson De Nkenglack (Cameroon)
The Man Died by Awam Amkpa (Nigeria)
True Chronicles of the Blida Joinville Psychiatric Hospital by Abdenour Zahzah (Algeria)
Umugani by Jean Kwezi (Rwanda)

​The jury of this segment features Senegalese filmmaker Moussa Sene Absa, Sudanese filmmaker Ibrahim Shaddad, Egyptian scriptwriter Tamer Habib, Algerian filmmaker Sofia Djama-Bendjebbar, and Ghanaian actress and filmmaker Akosua Busia.



 
Short Film Competition


Ayo directed by Françoise Ellong-Gomez and Yolande Eckel (Cameroon)
Chikha by Ayoub Layoussifi and  Zahoua Raji (Morocco)
Enyo (Reflection) by Nneoha Ann Aligwe (Nigeria)
For Me Intissar El Azhari (Morocco)
Jawabat by Aly Ahmed Ba-Bakr (Sudan)
Loading by Anis Lassoued (Tunisia)
Murder in Mind by William Kojo Agbeti (Ghana)
Aguelhoc by Ousmane Samassékou (Mali)
Okay, by Hesham Aly Abdel-Khalek (Egypt)
Protect the Protest by Bismark Aryee (Ghana)
Quarantine and Chill by David Kabale (South Africa)
The Father, Probably by Tayeb Tolba Sidi Mohamed Tolba (Mauritania)
The Night of Abed by Anis Djaad (Algeria)

The jury of the Short Film Competition consists of the Egyptian novelist and scriptwriter Ahmed Mourad, Moroccan film critic Abdelkrim Ouakrim, Senegalese film critic Najib Sagna, South African festival manager and film distributor Andrea Voges, and Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala. 

Films from the Diaspora


Campus Monde directed by Carolina Honrubia (Côte d’Ivoire)
The Jungo Life by David Fedele (Morocco)
Muzungu by Ben Donateo (Switzerland)
Dahomey by Mati Diop (Senegal)
Mothership by Muriel Cravatte (France - Belgium)

This segment's jury includes Egyptian film producer Gaby Khoury, Sierra Leonean producer and Festival Manager Mahen Bonetti, and Egyptian Filmmaker Amir Ramsis. 

Egyptian Student Film Competition

 

My Name is Dahab, directed by Ahmed Yacoub
Sprout of Earth by Mohamed Hamed Salama
Bird Trap by Ahmed Khalil Ali
I Can Smell A Rat by Antonious Bassily
V's Secret by Bassma Farah Nancy
Road Start by Youhanna Ashraf
Plan Bees: The Story of an Intruder by Nour Khaled
A Confused and Dying Dream by Hossam Waleed
Family Routine by Ahmed Hamed
City Moon by Reem Sayed Hegab
El-Falaky Barber by Sara Hegazy and Amr Mostafa

Mohamed Shafiq, Mona El-Sabbane, and Dr. Hesham Gamal make up the jury of the Egyptian Student Film Competition. 


Besides film screenings, the LAFF organizes workshops benefitting the attendees in different aspects of filmmaking.

The festival's 14th edition will feature many workshops and educational sessions led by renowned industry figures.

The highlights include: Film criticism workshop (led by Rami Abdel Razeq), acting (Ahmed Mokhtar), filmmaking (Khaled El Hagar), mobile film shooting (Mohamed Shafiq), interactive storytelling (Haitham Shokry), children's drawing (Dr Wael Nour), online film learning (Mona El-Sabbane), editing (Mohamed Ghoneim), basics of screenwriting (Dalia Basiony), handicrafts and fabric printing (Riham Abdel Rahman), cinema for children (Shwikar Khalifa), elements of cinematic art (Ashraf Tawfiq), documentary filmmaking / from idea to execution (Moataz Abdel Wahab), and puppet theatre for children (Samer Tarek).

The LAFF is Egypt's only cinematic event dedicated to showcasing the cinema riches of the Black continent. 

Throughout its history, the festival has screened countless films by African directors and held workshops, seminars, and industry-related events attended by filmmakers and film aficionados. 

The upcoming 14th edition of the festival will be held between 9 and 15 January 2025.

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