The Luxor African Film Festival held a press conference today, Friday, to announce the details of the 14th edition named by late Nour El-Sherif, scheduled to be held from January 9 to 14, with the participation of 35 African countries, and presence of celebrities and members of the festival’s supreme committee.
The press conference was attended by Mahmoud Hemeida, the honorary president of the festival in its next session, in addition to a number of cinema figures, including Mohie Ismail, director Omar Abdel Aziz, Dr. Khaled Abdel Jalil, Ahmed Magdy, director Khaled El-Hagar, Wafaa Miras, critic Essam Zakaria, director Magdy Ahmed Ali, beside number of critics and journalists.
During the press conference, it was announced that 65 films from 35 countries will be screened, varying between long and short narrative films.
The jury of the feature film competition consists of: Senegalese director Moussa Sana Absa and the membership of: Sudanese director Ibrahim Shaddad, Egyptian screenwriter Tamer Habib, Algerian director Sofia Djama, and Ghanaian actress Akosua Busia.
As for the jury of the short film competition, it includes: Egyptian novelist and screenwriter Ahmed Murad and the membership of: Moroccan critic Abdel Karim Oukrim, Senegalese critic Najib Sagna, South African director Andrea Voges, and Sudanese director and screenwriter Amjad Abu Al-Ala.
As for the jury of the diaspora competition, it includes: Egyptian producer and distributor Gaby Khoury, Sierra Leonean producer and festival director Mahen Bonetti, and Egyptian director and screenwriter Amir Ramses. While the jury of the Egyptian student films competition includes: Dr. Mohamed Shafiq, Dr. Mona Al-Sabban, and Dr. Hesham Gamal.
65 films
The list of participating feature films is: “Bird of Paradise” directed by Mourad Bel Cheikh from (Tunisia), “112” directed by Joel M’Maka Tchidari from (Togo), “Demba” directed by Mamadou Dia from (Senegal), “Disco Africa” directed by Luc Razana Jaona from (Madagascar), “Wedding” directed by Fatou Cissé from (Mali), “For the First Time” directed by John Ikram from (Egypt), “Love is Sultan” directed by Heba Yousry from (Egypt), “Without Trial” directed by Vicky Patterson from (Cameroon), “The Man Died” directed by Awane Mkaba from (Nigeria), “The True Stories of the Blida Joinville Psychiatric Hospital” directed by Abdel Nour Zahzaah from (Algeria), and “Womangy” directed by Gian Cuzzi from (Rwanda).
The short films competition included: “Ayo” directed by Françoise Elong-Gomez Yolande Bonguela Ekil from (Cameroon), “Sheikha” directed by Ayoub Alyousfi and Zahwa Raji from (Morocco), “Reflections” directed by Nnouha Anne Aligui from (Nigeria), “Lee” directed by Entesar Al-Azhari from (Morocco), “Answers” directed by Ali Ahmed Babiker from (Sudan), “Download” directed by Anis Al-Aswad from (Tunisia), “Zahnia’s Crime” directed by William Kojo from (Ghana), “Ajelhok” directed by Osman Smassikou from (Mali), “Present” directed by Hisham Ali Abdel Khalek from (Egypt), “Protest Protection” directed by Bismark Ariye from (Ghana), “Quarantine and Rest” directed by David Kabale from (South Africa), “Your Father Probably” directed by Tayeb Tolba and Sidi Mohamed Tolba from (Mauritania), and “Laylat Abed” Directed by Anis Ajad from (Algeria).
The list of films selected for the Diaspora Film Competition are: “Campus Monde” directed by Ntfaf Yannick Idoh Glick from (Benin – Senegal), “Django: Refugee Lives” directed by David Fedel from (Australia – Morocco), “Muzungu” directed by Ben Donatiu and Michel Passos Zilber Berg from (Switzerland), “Dahomey” directed by Mati Diop from (Senegal), and “Mothership” directed by Muriel Cravat from (France – Belgium). The list of films selected to participate in the Student Film Competition included: “My Name is Gold” directed by Ahmed Yaqoub, “The Plant of the Earth” directed by Mohamed Hamed Salama, “The Birds’ Trap” directed by Ahmed Khalil, “He Plays in My Abaya” directed by Antonious Basili, “Victoria’s Secret” directed by Basma Farah Nancy, “The Beginning of the Road” directed by Youhanna Ashraf, “Planebees” directed by Nour Khaled, “A Confused Dreamer Who Dies” directed by Hossam Walid, “Aisha Ahlak” directed by Ahmed Hamed, “Qamar Al Madina” directed by Reem Hegab, and “Halak Al Falaki” directed by Amr Mostafa and Sarah Hegazy. Also participating in the official section outside the competition are: the film “Abdullah” directed by Ahmed Ghamry from (Egypt), the film “Katsaros” directed by Mohamed El-Hadidi from (Egypt), the film “Complete Disturbance of the Cinematic Senses” directed by Ahmed Hussein from (Egypt), the film “Metanoa” directed by Jacinta Barros from (Mozambique), and the film “Marsa El-Zaman” directed by Sarah Elias from (Egypt). The list of films participating in the (Palestinian Film Panorama) includes: “From Zero Distance” No, directed by Hana Aliwa, “A Short Film About Children” directed by Ibrahim Handhal, “On the Sea” directed by Wissam Al-Jaafari, and “Bethlehem” directed by Ibrahim Handhal.
The jury for the competition to support the production of long documentary film projects includes: Mohamed El-Manji, Sherif Mandour, Layali Badr. The festival dedicates its fourteenth session to: the great Egyptian artist Nour El-Sherif, whose name the session bears on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his passing, the Senegalese director Safi Faye, the Mauritanian director Med Hondo, the great Egyptian writer Atef Beshay, and the great Moroccan director and actor Tayeb Al-Seddiki, in addition to celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great artist Shukry Sarhan.
The festival announced the honoring of a number of African stars, including: the star Khaled El-Nabawy, the great director Magdy Ahmed Ali, the Tunisian actor Ahmed El-Hafeyan, the Ghanaian actress and director Akosua Busia, and the Senegalese director Moussa Absa.
The festival is showing a group of Among the honored films on the sidelines of the session are: (The Citizen, The Immigrant, The Dealer, A Day and a Night) by star Khaled El Nabawy, the film “Birds of the Nile” by director Magdy Ahmed Ali, the film “Xalé” by director Moussa Absa, and the film “Stevie Wonder In Search of A Blessed Life” by director and actress Akosua Busia.
The list of festival publications includes the books: “Pioneer of African Cinema” in Arabic and French about the late Senegalese director Safi Faye, written by: Nadjibou Sanya, presented by: Thierno Dia, and translated by: Sherif Awad, and the book “Nour El Sherif.. A Reading of the Professor’s Journey” by Gamal Abdel Qader in cooperation with Nefertiti Publishing House, the book “Son of the Nile” about artist Shukry Sarhan, written by Sameh Fathy, and the book “A New Ceiling for Creativity” about star Khaled El Nabawy, written by Ayman El Hakim.
13 workshops
The festival offers a group of workshops within the “Local Community Development” program, which are: “Film Criticism” by Rami Abdel Razek, “Acting” by Ahmed Mokhtar, “Film Directing” by Khaled El-Hagar, “Shooting Movies with Mobile” by Dr. Mohamed Shafiq, “Interactive Judging” by Haitham Shukry, “Children’s Drawings” by Dr. Wael Nour, “Online Cinema Education” by Dr. Mona El-Sabban, “Film Editing” by Mohamed Ghanem, “Principles of Screenwriting” by Dr. Dalia Bassiouni, “Jewelry Making and Printing on Fabric” by Dr. Reha Abdel Rahman, “Children’s Cinema” by Shwikar Khalifa, “Elements of Cinematic Art” by Dr. Ashraf Tawfik.
The festival also announced the launch of the Future of Film Festivals in the Digital Age Forum as part of the activities of the 14th edition of the Luxor African Film Festival, on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 January.
The forum provides a collaborative platform that brings together filmmakers, festival organizers, TV channels, producers, and industry experts to discuss how digital technology can enhance the development of the African film industry and increase its visibility on the global stage. The forum will address actionable topics such as digital marketing, intellectual property rights in the digital age, and low-cost tools for film production.
Among the most prominent activities of the forum is the Training of Trainers (TOT) program, which aims to qualify African filmmakers with the skills necessary to organize workshops in their communities, thus enhancing the culture of innovation and collaboration in storytelling.
