Cairo International Film Festival delayed until December

The 42nd iteration of the festival will celebrate both international and regional films

Egyptian actor Mohamed Ramadan poses on the red carpet of the 40th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival in 2018. AFP

The 42nd Cairo International Film Festival has postponed its dates to December 2 to 10, two weeks after the planned dates of November 19 to 28.

According to a statement by the festival, the change in date was to ensure that safety measures were in place according to guidelines approved by the Egyptian government and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The festival's Cairo Industry Days, which supports films in development or post-production, will take place from Friday to Monday, December 4 to 7, while the festival's Cairo Film Connection will be from Saturday to Monday, December 5 to 7.

The festival has not yet announced its full programme, but it has shared a glimpse at some of the award-winning international and regional films that have been selected.

The line-up includes the premiere of Egyptian director Amir Ramses's film The Curfew, which is set during the 2013 curfew in Egypt and follows the story of Faten, who leaves prison after 20 years to find her daughter, Leila. The feature, which stars veteran Egyptian actress Elham Shahin, will be running in the festival's international competition.

Egyptian director Mayye Zayed's feature documentary Lift Like A Girl, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, has also been selected.

Regionally, the programme includes Tarzan and Arab Nasser's award-winning film Gaza Mon Amour, which stars international Palestinian actress Hiam Abbas.

The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and won the Netpac award at Tiff.

International films include Chloe Zhao's Nomadland, which was the opening feature at the Venice Film Festival in September, Bassam Tariq's Mogul Mowgli and Ben Sharrock's comedy-drama Limbo.

The festival has also announced that legendary screenwriter Wahid Hamed will receive the Golden Pyramid Honorary Award for lifetime achievement.

Hamed is behind numerous prominent films in Egyptian cinema, including The Yacoubian Building and Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story.