The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual gathering organised by the Ministry of Culture in Egypt. Launched in 1976, it is one of the 15 festivals accorded category “A” status by the International Federation of Film Producers. It is the oldest event in Africa and the Middle East.

The CIFF is calling for entries for its 38th edition, which will be held in Cairo from 15–24 November 2016, at the Opera House.

To take part, films should have been produced after October 2015, and their duration must exceed 60 minutes. The films must not have been screened in Egypt before. The films in competition must not have participated in the competition of any other international film festival.

To submit a film, please click here, fill in the online form and send a copy of the film on DVD, with English subtitles, by post to the CIFF (17 Kasr El Nil Street, Cairo, Egypt). The film title and the director’s name should be printed on the parcel in English, accompanied by the sentence: “Without commercial value and for cultural purposes only”.

The deadline for submissions is 15 September 2016

The festival is made up of several sections, including: the International Competition for Feature and Documentary Films, Out of Competition, Festival of Festivals, Panorama, Forum of Independent Cinema, Feature Film Classics, Tributes, and Guest of Honour from World Cinema.

Several prizes will be handed out, including Best Film, Jury Prize, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Artistic Contribution and more.

A number of parallel programmes will also take place: the Horizon of New Arab Cinema, organised by the Egyptian Filmmakers Syndicate; the International Critics’ Days for first or second features, organised by the Egyptian Film Critics Association; and the Cinema of Tomorrow International Competition for shorts and student films, organised by the Union of Students of the High Cinema Institute in Egypt.

For more information, please click here or send an email to [email protected]

Content created in collaboration with Cineuropa.