Revolutionaries Never Die

Source: CIFF

‘Revolutionaries Never Die’

Palestinian documentary project Revolutionaries Never Die by Mohanad Yaqubi has won the $10,000 prize for best project in post-production at the 11th Cairo Film Connection (CFC), while Lebanese filmmaker Ahmad Ghossein’s narrative comedy The Side Effects of Trusting Life, received the $10,000 award for best project in development.

Revolutionaries Never Die pays homage to Lebanese filmmaker Jocelyne Saab, tracing her 16 films focused on Arab struggles and revolutions, while showcasing her resilience, political insight, and legacy. The project also earned a Special Mentorship Award from Rough Cut Lab Africa (RCLA).

The Side Effects of Trusting Life tells the story of Lama, who, after losing her job during an economic crisis, navigates a surreal Beirut where banks have frozen everyone’s money, confronting absurdity, chaos, and her own unraveling as she and a determined villager struggle to reclaim what’s lost.

The Side Effects of Trusting Life also received three other awards: a $10,000 cash award from ART, $5,000 from Rise Studios, and service award from Shift Studios.

The CFC is part of the Cairo Industry Days, the industry platform of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF).

The jury for this year’s CFC included Egyptian filmmaker Ayten Amin, Palestinian-Dutch filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad, and Susana Santos Rodrigues, co-director of the IndieLisboa International Film Festival.

The 2025 edition of CFC showcased 16 film projects in development and post-production from across the Arab world, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Tunisia, Jordan, Yemen, Algeria, and Sudan, which collectively garnered 37 awards honoring Arab filmmakers and their innovative visions.

The Cairo Film Connection (CFC) announced several cash awards offered by its key partners, recognizing outstanding Arab film projects in development and post-production.

Among the winners, the Palestinian project Ping-Pong by Saleh Saadi received $1,500 from Special Touch and the Egyptian feature project Rock Paper Sea by Randa Ali was awarded $5,000 by AH Media.

Additionally, the Algerian film Alicante by Palestinian-Algerian-French filmmaker Lina Soualem, received a special mention and $2,500 from Pathé Touch, which also awarded $5,000 to the Lebanese project The Day of Wrath: Tales from Tripoli by Rania Rafei.

Other notable winners included Egypt’s All That The Wind Can Carry by Maged Nader, which received $5,000 from Lagoonie Film Production. The Tunisian project Goodbye Party by Sarra El Abed and Iraq’s The Colour of Our Time by Hayder Helo both shared a $5,000 prize from Iraqi Cinema.

Two projects received $5,000 each from the Red Sea International Film Festival: Sudan’s Where Do I Belong by Ibrahim Mohamed and Yemen’s Al Madeenah 2008 by Yousef Assab. Lastly, ART awarded $5,000 to Egypt’s Rainbows Don’t Last Long by Mayye Zayed.

In-kind awards included an invitation to the Durban Film Mart for Sarra El Abed’s Goodbye Party and an invitation to participate in Medimed 2026 for Egypt’s documentary project I Have Other Friends by Yomna Khattab, which also received $5,000 in editing services (100 hours) from Together Media. All That The Wind Can Carry was recognized by UNFPA with $10,000 in development services and also received in post-production services from Shift Studios.

Another Egyptian project, Rainbows Don’t Last Long, earned in-kind awards from Cinetech ($20,000 in DCP and post-production services) and Ambient Light ($20,000 in post-production services).

Yemen’s Al Madeenah 2008 garnered an invitation to participate in the Malmö Film Market 2026, $5,000 in development services from AA Films, and distribution services from MAD Solutions.

Jordan’s Asphalt by Hamza Hamideh won an invitation to participate in Rough Cut Lab Africa (RCLA) 2026, $10,000 in sound services from No’ta, and post-production services from Ambient Light, while Palestine’s Ping-Pong received in-kind prizes from I Sound and Cinetech.

Iraq’s The Colour of Our Time by Hayder Helo was recognized by CULT, Cinetech, DTS, and Shift Studios, Lebanon’s The Day of Wrath by Rania Rafei received in-kind sound support from DTS, and Sudan’s documentary project Where Do I Belong got an invitation to participate in Amman Film Industry Days.

Over its 11 editions, the CFC has supported acclaimed projects such as In the Last Days of the City (2016) by Tamer El Said, Inshallah a Boy (2022) by Amjad Al Rasheed, Four Daughters (2023) by Kaouther Ben Hania, and Life After Siham by Namir Abdel Messeeh.

 

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