Rules and Regulations

In its 45th edition, the Cairo International Film Festival will host the 10th edition of the Cairo Film Connection (CFC), the festival’s co-production platform.

Cairo Film Connection will invite international producers, film financiers and film distributors as well as representatives from funding bodies, sales agents, festivals delegates, streamers and TV channels to come together to initiate international co-productions and partnerships with films from the Arab world.

Cairo Film Connection is a space for Arab filmmakers to initiate connections and receive the support they need to bring their films to completion. In addition, a jury composed of prominent film professionals will select projects to receive cash and in-kind awards as presented by Cairo Film Connection valuable partners.

Selected participants will pitch in English their film projects through a public presentation (20 minutes long including Q&A) to industry professionals of Cairo Film Connection and Cairo Industry Days (*only Industry Badge holders are allowed during the pitches). For projects in development, it is encouraged to show stills or visual references. For projects in Post-production, it will be required to show a 20 minute edited sequence or scenes.

Cairo Film Connection will organize for each film project team (director/producer) one-on-one meetings with industry professionals and will provide a schedule, including key events and networking opportunities, prior to the start of the co-production platform.

Eligibility

The project must meet all of the following conditions to be eligible for Cairo Film Connection submission, please make sure you read all the rules and conditions.

• The project is a work of feature length fiction or non-fiction
• The project is in development or post-production phase
• The director of the project has previously directed a minimum of one film whether short or feature length film
• Projects that have participated in a previous edition of Cairo Film Connection cannot be submitted a second time unless the participated project was in development and now is in Post-Production stage
•  Cairo Film Connection accepts projects in development that do not have a confirmed producer but are encouraged to attach a producer prior to the event

Selection Criteria

The Cairo Film Connection committee (formed by internal and external industry professionals) will select up to 16 projects.
The projects should demonstrate creativity and innovation, express narrative strength, have a passionate team and a potential for international distribution (festivals and releases)

How to Apply

Applications are only accepted through our online application forms available on our website.

Applicants must complete all mandatory fields in English or Arabic as indicated and attach all required documents in English.

The deadline for submissions is August 10th, 2024 (11:59 pm Cairo Local Time).

Application’s Requierements

 Projects in Development Phase :

For Fiction Feature Length Projects :

• Logline
• Short Synopsis (maximum 150 words)
• Synopsis (maximum 1 page)
• Treatment (maximum 10 pages) if a script is available – (maximum of 40 pages) if first draft script is not available
• Director’s Statement (maximum 1 page)
• Director’s biography (150 words)
• Director’s filmography
• Online samples of director’s previous works (maximum of 3 previous works)
• Producer’s biography (150 words) – if available
• Production company profile (150 words) – if available
• Estimated Budget (in USD)
• Financial Plan (in USD) – if available
• Project timeline and expected date of completion – if available
• Copies of financial agreements and/or letters of intent from financing partners (if available)
• Copies of Co-production Agreements (if available)

For Non-Fiction feature length projects :

• Logline
• Short Synopsis (150 words)
• Synopsis (maximum 1 page)
• Director’s Statement (maximum 2 pages)
• Treatment (maximum 20 pages)
• 3 to 5 minutes Sizzle Real or Moodboard (if available)
• Director’s biography (150 words)
• Director’s filmography
• Online Samples of director’s previous works (maximum of 3 previous works)
• Producer’s Biography (150 words) – if available
• Production company profile (150 words) – if available
• Budget Top Sheet (in USD)
• Financial Plan (in USD) – if available
• Project Timeline and expected Date of Completion
• Copies of financial agreements and/or letters of intent from financing partners (if available)
• Copies of Co-production Agreements (if available)

Required Information and Documents for Projects in Post-Production Phase :

For Fiction and Non-Fiction feature length projects :

• Logline
• Short Synopsis (maximum 150 words)
• Synopsis (maximum 1 page)
• Treatment (maximum 10 pages)
• Director’s Statement (maximum 1 pages)
• Director’s Biography (maximum 150 words)
• Director’s Filmography
• Online Samples of director’s previous works (a maximum of 3 previous works)
• Producer’s biography (maximum 150 words)
• Production Company Profile (maximum 150 words)
• Post-production Budget (in USD)
• Project Timeline and expected Date of Completion
• A 20 -minute edited sample scenes with English subtitles
• Selective stills (maximum 4 stills)
• Copies of financial agreements and/or letters of intent from financing partners (if available)
• Copies of Co-production Agreements (if available)

Please note that if you are submitting your project in Arabic you will be required to send all information in English before October 1st in case your project gets selected in Cairo Film Connection.

ONLY PROJECTS SUBMITTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THESE RULES WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION. INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

Selection

The final selection will be made by early October. All the film projects will receive an email regarding the selection decision.
The Selected projects team (Director and Producer) will be contacted by the Cairo Film Connection team.

Cairo Film Connection Attendance

Selected participants of Cairo Film Connection will be provided the following :
• Full festival accreditation
• Travel and accommodation for the 3 days of the CFC *(for residents outside of Cairo)
• Access to all Cairo Industry Days activities **(except for closed workshops)
• Invitation to receptions and related events
• Access to the Happy Hour receptions held by Cairo Industry Days
• Schedule of meetings and networking opportunities
•Project promotion through CFC catalogue, website, press releases and social media
• Eligibility to win Cairo Film Connection prizes awarded by CFC partners

The selected project team is required to:
• Commit to attending the 3 days of Cairo Film Connection
• Pitch preferably in English their film project publicly to the jury as well as the industry professionals attending in a 20 to 30 minutes presentation (only industry badge holders will be allowed in)
• Commit to the scheduled meetings organized by the Cairo Film Connection Team
• Provide an up-to-date film dossier and any kind of supporting materials they wish to use in their meetings by end of October.
• Include the following line along with Cairo International Film Festival Logo in the credit role, when their film is completed: “Presented at the Cairo Film Connection, Cairo International Film Festival 2024” (Logos and strapline will be provided by the Cairo Film Connection team separately to include in the credit sequence of the finished film.)
• Include the festival as well as Cairo Film Connection logos in the final credits of the film in the case the film project is awarded
• It is encouraged to add the partner(s) award(s) logo(s) in the final credits of the film in the case the film project is awarded

For any questions or inquiries related to Cairo Film Connection please contact:

Cairo Film Connection 

CFC@ciff.org.eg