This edition of AIWFF ran from 2 to 7 May, with the awards revealed during the official closing ceremony on the last day.
Sudan, Remember Us (2024) competed in the Feature Film Competition and won the leading award named after Asia Dagher.
The 75-minute documentary film was largely shot on a handheld camera.
“It captures a jubilant moment of defiance among young Sudanese activists in Khartoum after the overthrow of a long dictatorship and then chronicles the military crackdown that followed,” according to the film’s synopsis.
AP described the film as “both a story of collective hope and a feat of reportage.”
It has had its round of international screenings, having been shown at the Marrakech Film Festival, Venice, Toronto, and others.
Awards
During the closing ceremony, other awardees were revealed.
Feature Films Competition
- Nadia Lutfi Award for Best Actor went to Matteo Simoni and child actor Basil Wheatley for their roles in Milano (Belgium-Netherlands), a film by Christina Vandekerckhove.
- The Soad Hosny Award for Best Actress went to Hasti Mahamay for Connection (UAE).
- Latifa Al-Zayyat Award for Best Screenplay went to Kim Su Yeon for My Best, Your Least (South Korea).
- Polish documentary Silent Trees by Agnieszka Zwiefka received Rashida Abdel Salam’s Jury Award.
- The Bahiga Hafez Award for Best Director went to the collective production of directors Akinmuyiwa Bisola, Atinkpo Segun Elijah, Edukpo Tina, James Tayler, Mathew Cerf, Okechukwu Samuel, and Ogungbamila Temitope for their film The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos (Nigeria).
Short Film Competition
- Atteyat Elabnoudy Award for Best Director went to Agnes Skonare for her film Favours.
- Nahed Nasrallah Award and Special Jury Award went to Void Spaces by Marta Koch.
- Special Mention was given to Love Bites by Mahmoud Zain.
Euro-Mediterranean Competition
- Best Euro-Mediterranean film dealing with women’s issues went to Moon by Kurdwin Ayub.
- Special Mention went to the film Butterflies by Jenni Toivoniemi.
Films With Impact Competition
- Best Film Award went to Abia by Rodaina Kamal.
- Special Mention went to Sound From Downtown by Alfaisal Badr.
- The Best Idea went to Fatma by Mohanad Diab.
Special segment: South films
The AIWFF introduced a new segment highlighting films from Egypt’s south this year.
The first award went to Bishoy Refaat Tawfik for his film Molasses.
Sara Hussein's film Bubbles received the second award, and Liza Kamal Attiah's Rooted Tree received the third.
Medhat Saleh's film It Hasn’t Been Wasted was given a Special Mention.
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