'The Blue Trail'

Source: Guillermo Garza / Desvia

‘The Blue Trail’

Gabriel Mascaro’s The Blue Trail is set to open the 46th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), which will showcase more than 100 films across its various sections between November 12-21.

The Brazilian feature will have its MENA premiere at CIFF, following a world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, where it won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize. The Blue Trail follows 77-year-old Tereza, who refuses to relocate to a senior housing colony and embarks on a journey along the Amazon River to fulfill one last wish before losing her freedom.

Scroll down for full line-up

Cairo’s international competition features 14 titles, consisting of nine international films and five from the MENA region.

Highlights of this year’s competition lineup include Once Upon a Time in Gaza, the third feature by Palestinian filmmakers Tarzan and Arab Nasser, which won the Un Certain Regard Best Director award at Cannes.

Among the world premieres in competition is One More Show, a debut documentary by Egyptian filmmaker Mai Saad and Palestinian filmmaker Ahmed Al-Danaf. The film follows the Free Gaza Circus as they perform for the people of Gaza amid the devastation of genocide, transforming their art into an act of defiance, resilience, and hope.

Other competition titles include documentary Souraya Mon Amour by Lebanese filmmaker Nicolas Khoury, focusing on dancer and actress Souraya Baghdadi as she reflects on her life with her late husband, filmmaker Maroun Baghdadi, one of the most influential voices in Lebanese cinema, known for Little Wars (1982) and Out of Life (1991), which won Cannes’ Jury Prize.

The competition line up also includes Maryam Touzani’s Spanish-language drama Calle Málaga, Morocco’s Oscar submission; Death Does Not Exist by Félix Dufour-Laperrière; Dragonfly by Paul Andrew Williams; and The Things You Kill, Canada’s Oscar submission by Alireza Khatami.

The competition films will vie for the Golden Pyramid Award, to be presented during the festival’s closing ceremony on November 21.

Cairo will close with Kaouther Ben Hania’s docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab, Tunisia’s Oscar submission and winner of the Silver Lion, Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Venice Film Festival.

The copmetition jury will be chaired by Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan, with members including Italian film editor Simona Paggi, Chinese filmmaker Guan Hu, Egyptian filmmaker Nadine Khan, Egyptian actress Basma, Tunisian filmmaker Leyla Bouzid, and Romanian filmmaker Bogdan Mureșanu.

The official selection also features nine films competing for the Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition Awards. This includes Iraqi filmmaker Zahraa Ghandour’s debut feature documentary Flana, in its MENA premiere, as well as Dead Dog by Lebanese filmmaker Sarah Francis, and the world premieres of two Egyptian films, Complaint No. 713317 by Yasser Shafiey and Pasha’s Girls by Mohamed Al Adl.

Cairo’s out of competition official selection includes Agnieszka Holland’s Franz, Venice award-winner Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend, Christian Petzold’s Mirrors No. 3, which premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, and Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude’s social satire Kontinental ’25.

The festival continues to shed light on the plight of Palestine through a strong presence of Palestinian cinema across its sections. In addition to The Voice of Hind Rajab, Once Upon a Time in Gaza, and One More Show, the lineup includes Who Is Still Alive by Nicolas Wadimoff in the Special Screenings section and Habibi Hussein by Alex Bakri in Critics’ Week.

CIFF has also announced a Turkish Spotlight, screening a collection of eight Turkish films across various sections. This includes As We Breathe by Şeyhmus Altun in the International Competition, Kanto by Ensar Altay, Not What You Think by Vuslat Saraçoğlu, One Of Those Days Where Hemme Dies by Murat Fıratoğlu, and We Need to Talk About Dilan by Umut Şilan Oğurlu in the Special Screenings section.

CIFF 2025 Official Selection

Opening Film
The Blue Trail (Bra-Mex-Chile-Neth)
Dir. Gabriel Mascaro

International Competition

A Son (Sp)
Dir. Nacho La Casa

As We Breathe (Tur)
Dir. Şeyhmus Altun

Calle Málaga (Mar-Fr-Sp-Ger-Bel)
Dir. Maryam Touzani

Death Does Not Exist (Can)
Dir. Félix Dufour-Laperrière

Dragonfly (UK)
Dir. Paul Andrew Williams

Exile (Tun-Lux-Fr-Qat-Saudi)
Dir. Mehdi Hmili

Once Upon a Time in Gaza (Fr-Pal-Ger-Por-Qat-Jor)
Dir. Tarzan, Arab Nasser

One More Show (Egy-Pal)
Dir. Mai Saad, Ahmed Al-Danaf

Renovation (Lith-Lat-Bel)
Dir. Gabrielė Urbonaitė

Sand City (Bang)
Dir. Mahde Hasan

The Silent Run (Bel-Can)
Dir. Marta Bergman

Souraya, Mon Amour (Leb-Qat)
Dir. Nicolas Khoury

The Things You Kill (Tur-Can-Fr-Pol)
Dir. Alireza Khatami

Zafzifa (Mal)
Dir. Peter Sant

Official Selection – Out of Competition

Case 137 (Fr)
Dir. Dominik Moll

Dreams (Us-Mex)
Dir. Michel Franco

Franz (Cze-Ger-Pol)
Dir. Agnieszka Holland

Good Boy (Pol-UK)
Dir. Jan Komasa

I Swear (UK)
Dir. Kirk Jones

Kontinental ’25 (Rom)
Dir. Radu Jude

Mirrors No. 3 (Ger)
Dir. Christian Petzold

My Tennis Maestro (It)
Dir. Andrea Di Stefano

Rebuilding (Us)
Dir. Max Walker-Silverman

Sermon to the Void (Aze-Mex-Tur)
Dir. Hilal Baydarov

Silent Friend (Ger-Hun-Fr)
Dir. Ildikó Enyedi

The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tun-Fr) (Closing Film)
Dir. Kaouther Ben Hania

What Does That Nature Say to You (S.Kor)
Dir. Hong Sangsoo

Woman and Child (Iran)
Dir. Saeed Roustaee

Horizons of Arab Cinema

Anti Cinema (Saudi)
Dir. Ali Saeed

Azza (Ger)
Dir. Stefanie Brockhaus

Complaint No. 713317 (Egy)
Dir. Yasser Shafiey

Dead Dog (Leb)
Dir. Sarah Francis

Flana (Irq-Fr-Qat)
Dir. Zahraa Ghandour

Goundafa, The Cursed Song (Mar)
Dir. Ali Benjelloun

Looking for Aida (Tun)
Dir. Sarra Abidi

Pasha’s Girls (Egy)
Dir. Mohamed Al Adl

Round 13 (Tun)
Dir. Mohamed Ali Nahdi

Critics’ Week – Official Competition

The Botanist (China)
Dir. Jing Yi

Do You Love Me (Fr-Leb-Ger-Qat)
Dir. Lana Daher

Habibi Hussein (Pal-Ger-Saudi-Swe)
Dir. Alex Bakri

In My Parent’s House (Ger)
Dir. Tim Ellrich

Reedland (Neth-Bel)
Dir. Sven Bresser

Siblings (It)
Dir. Greta Scarano

The Odyssey of Joy (Kos-Fr)
Dir. Zgjim Terziqi

That Summer in Paris (Fr)
Dir. Valentine Cadic

Special Screenings

Action Item (Svk-Cze-Ger)
Dir. Paula Ďurinová

Chopin, A Sonata in Paris (Pol)
Dir. Michał Kwieciński

Dandelion’s Odyssey (Fr-Bel)
Dir. Momoko Seto

Homebound (Ind)
Dir. Neeraj Ghaywan

Imago (Fr-Bel)
Dir. Déni Oumar Pitsaev

Kim Novak’s Vertigo (Us)
Dir. Alexandre O. Philippe

Life After Siham (Fra-Egy)
Dir. Namir Abdel Messeh

Mother’s Baby (Aust-Switz-Ger)
Dir. Johanna Moder

Rosemead (Us)
Dir. Eric Lin

Silent Rebellion (Switz-Bel-Fr)
Dir. Marie-Elsa Sgualdo

Triangle of Love (Egy)
Dir. Alaa Mahmoud

Who Is Still Alive (Fr-Switz-Pal)
Dir. Nicolas Wadimoff

Young Mothers (Bel-Fr)
Dir. Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne

 

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