Cairo Film Connection Selects 16 Projects from 12 Countries to Compete for Funding Awards in its 12th Edition
Cairo Film Connection, the co-production and development platform of Cairo International Film Festival, announces the official list of selected projects participating in its 12th edition, held as part of the 47th edition of Cairo International Film Festival, from November 11 to 20, 2026.
Sixteen projects have qualified for the final stage of the Connection out of 193 cinematic projects submitted from 15 Arab countries. Their filmmakers will meet with producers, financiers, distributors, and cinematic institutions, competing for a set of awards, grants, and services offered by Cairo Film Connection and its partners during the Connection’s events in November.
The selected projects list includes 9 fiction projects in development, 4 non-fiction projects in development, and 3 non-fiction projects in post-production, reflecting a diversity in production stages and cinematic narrative forms, alongside a wide geographical spread of the participating projects.
In the Fiction in Development category, the list includes:
“A Special Night” directed by Zhino Hadi Hassan, produced by Hisham Zaman and Muna Al-Kadhimi, from Iraq.
“Dear Tarkovsky” directed by Firas Khoury, produced by Linda Mutawi, from Palestine.
“In the Land of Lavender” directed by Ali Saeed, produced by Hassan Saeed, from KSA.
“Madness and Honey Days” directed by Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji, produced by Maytham Jbara, from Iraq.
“Naydalaan” directed by Mariam AlDhubhani, produced by Bassam Al-Asaad, a co-production between Yemen and Jordan.
“Reda” directed by Ahmed Fawzi Saleh, produced by Ali Fayez, from Egypt.
“The Man Who is Gone” directed by Naji Ismail, produced by Muhammad Taymour, from Egypt.
“The Schoolyard” directed by Mohamed Siam, produced by Mohamed Siam and Brandy Miller, a co-production between Egypt and Belgium.
“Unclear Number” directed by Yahya Alabdallah, produced by Huda Al-Kadhimi, a co-production between Jordan, Iraq, and Luxembourg.
In the Non-Fiction in Development category, the list includes:
“Come Out, Ateyyat” directed by Manal Khaled, produced by Fatma Abed, from Egypt.
“Terminus” directed by Oumaima Trabelsi, produced by Oumaima Trabelsi and Erige Sehiri, from Tunisia.
“The Story of the Mountain” directed by Shayma’ Awawdeh, produced by Shayma’ Awawdeh, a co-production between Palestine and France.
“Twelve Fig Leaves” directed by Jöelle Abou Chabké, produced by Lara Abou Saifan, from Lebanon.
In the Non-Fiction in Post-Production category, the list includes:
“A Butterfly Hug” directed by Sally Abobasha, produced by Aya Tallah Yusuf and Sally Abobasha, from Egypt.
“Amal” directed by Khaled Alswidan (Al-Khalidi), produced by Lujain Hamdan, a co-production between Syria and Jordan.
“Disappeared” directed by Anas Zwahri, produced by Ahmad Alhaj, a co-production between Syria, France, Lebanon, and Qatar.
193 Projects in the Submission Phase and 16 Projects in the Final List
The projects submitted for the 12th edition included 126 fiction projects in development, 40 non-fiction projects in development, and 27 projects in post-production, comprising 7 fiction and 20 non-fiction projects.
Following the evaluation and selection process, the 16 projects in the official list proceed to the final stage of Cairo Film Connection, becoming eligible to compete for the awards announced by the Connection during its 12th edition events.
This year’s selection committee, which undertook the evaluation process of the applications and submitted projects, included: filmmaker Basma Ahmed, filmmaker and distributor Marwan El-Shafei, filmmaker and producer Nada Riyadh, filmmaker Noha Adel, and filmmaker and producer Sameh Gamal.
Through this edition, Cairo Film Connection continues its role as a professional platform connecting Arab filmmakers with sources of funding, production, and distribution, providing the selected projects an opportunity to pitch their projects to a group of key players in the Arab and international film industry.
An Extended Journey of Supporting Arab Cinema
Cairo Film Connection was launched in 2010 under the umbrella of Cairo International Film Festival, with the aim of creating a necessary co-production space for Arab filmmakers, before its relaunch in 2018 as part of Cairo Industry Days, within a broader vision to provide an integrated professional infrastructure for the film industry.
During its previous 11 editions, the Connection selected 169 projects from 15 Arab countries, including 121 projects in development and 48 projects in post-production, comprising 106 fiction projects and 63 non-fiction projects.
Over this journey, the Connection provided more than 1.3 million dollars in cash and in-kind awards, through 138 awards, while 88 projects, representing 52% of the total selected projects, received awards and support.
The impact of these projects extended to major international cinematic forums, where films by Cairo Film Connection alumni had their world premieres at prominent international festivals, including Venice, Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, Toronto, Rotterdam, El Gouna, Busan, and Red Sea, in addition to the Cairo International Film Festival.
Among the most notable films that benefited from the Connection’s support are “Four Daughters” directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, “Inshallah a Boy” directed by Amjad Al Rasheed, “Bye Bye Tiberias” directed by Lina Soualem, “Souad” directed by Ayten Amin, and “Life After Siham” directed by Namir Abdel Messeeh.
In 2026, the Connection’s alumni continued their presence at international festivals, with the participation of “Revolutionaries Never Die” directed by Palestinian filmmaker Mohanad Yaqubi at the Locarno Film Festival, which is one of the projects of the Connection’s 11th edition, alongside the presence of “Day of Wrath: Tales from Tripoli” directed by Lebanese filmmaker Rania Rafei, which was among the projects of the previous edition. Cairo International Film Festival has documented the ongoing international presence of the Connection’s alumni projects during this year.
The 47th edition of Cairo International Film Festival will be held from November 11 to 20, 2026, under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. Meanwhile, the 12th edition of Cairo Film Connection forms one of the most prominent events of Cairo Industry Days, offering the makers of the selected projects an opportunity for direct networking with industry partners and competing for the awards and support provided by the Connection and its partners.
The announcement of the selected list prior to the Connection’s convening marks the first stage of the projects’ journey within the 12th edition. The final award winners will be announced during the Connection’s events this coming November, following the meetings of the projects’ filmmakers with representatives of participating production, financing, and distribution entities, as well as cinematic institutions.
About Cairo International Film Festival
Cairo International Film Festival was established in 1976 and is considered one of the most prestigious film festivals in the Arab world and Africa. It is the only Arab and African festival accredited as a Category “A” festival by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).
It is held annually under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. Throughout its history, the festival has consolidated its position as a major platform for Egyptian, Arab, and international cinema, combining cinematic screening with cultural dialogue, and supporting the development of the film industry and the discovery of new talents and projects.
