REGULATIONS of THE 46th CAIRO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

12-21 November 2025

Article 1:

The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual international film festival organized by the Ministry of Culture in Egypt. It is accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) and is committed to comply with all its conditions and regulations.

Article 2:

CIFF aims to contribute towards the development of the art and science of film and encourage intercultural dialogue.

Article 3:

The 46th Cairo International Film Festival will be held in Cairo from 12th to 21st of November 2025 having its headquarters at the Cairo Opera House.

Article 4:

CIFF Official Film Sections
International Competition for feature films
Official Selection – Out of Competition
Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition for feature Arab films
International Critics’ Week Competition for feature films
Short Film Competition
International Panorama
Special Screenings
CIFF classics
Midnight Screenings
New Media Section for XR films

Cairo Industry Days
Industry Panels
Film and TV Workshops
Masterclasses and In-conversations
Conferences and Summits
Cairo Film Connection
Cairo Film Market

Article 5:

CIFF Official Film Sections Awards

The Golden Pyramid Award for Best Film, presented to the producer (The award must not be attributed ex-aequo) – Cash Award of 7000 $
The Silver Pyramid, for Best Director – Cash Award of 5000 $
The Bronze Pyramid Award, Special Jury Award – Cash Award of 3000 $
Naguib Mahfouz Award for Best Screenplay
Best Actor Award
Best Actress Award
Henry Barakat Award for Best Artistic Contribution

CIFF Parallel Awards

Festival Tributes
The Golden Pyramid Honorary Award for lifetime achievement to prominent film figures for their contribution to enrich the art of cinema.
Faten Hamama Excellence Awardto distinguished film figures for their contribution to enrich the art of cinema.

The Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition Awards
Saad Eldin Wahba Awardfor Best Arabic Film, awarded to the director.
Salah Abu Seif Awardthe Special Jury Award.
Best Script Award
Best Acting performance Award

International Critics’ Week Competition Awards
Shadi Abdel Salam Award for Best Film, awarded to the director.
Fathy Farag Award the Special Jury Award.

Short Film Competition Awards
Youssef Chahine Award for Best Short Film. 2000 $ Cash Award.
The Special Jury Award.

CIFF Additional Awards
Youssef Cherif Rizkallah Award (Audience Award): Certificate given to one of the films selected in the International Competition, based on the voting of the audience.

Best Arab Film Award: 10,000$ presented to the producer of the film. The Award will be granted by a special jury to the best Arab film selected in any of the three Competitions (International Competition, The Horizons of Arab Cinema, and International Critics’ Week Competition).

Best Non-Fiction Film: presented to the producer of the film. The Award will be granted by a special jury to the best Non- Fiction film selected in any of the three Competitions (International Competition, The Horizons of Arab Cinema, and International Critics’ Week Competition).

The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI)

The FIPRESCI Award will be decided by a jury composed of a president and two members and will be awarded to a film in the International Competition.  The Award will be announced during the CIFF closing ceremony.

NETPAC Award:

The NETPAC Award is awarded to the feature film from the Asia and Pacific regions by a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema. The Award will be announced during the CIFF closing ceremony.

Article 6:

To participate in the International Competition for feature fiction and documentary, films must meet all of the following criteria:

The film should not have been screened in the International Competition of any of the Fifteen (15) festivals accredited by the FIAPF in the competitive non-specialized film festivals category.
The film must not have been screened in the MENA region before its official screening at CIFF.
The film must not have been released before November 2024.
Duration of the film must exceed sixty (60) minutes.
The film must not have been screened on any TV or sat channel, or any digital platform or VOD (except for festivals’ screenings) before its official screening at CIFF.

Article 7:

The board of CIFF will select the jury of the International Competition for feature films. The jury will be composed according to the rules of FIAPF.

All Jury members must not have any professional relation and/or has contributed to the making of any of the films officially selected in the four competitions of CIFF.

Article 8:

To participate in the Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition for feature fiction and documentary, the films must meet the following criteria:

The film must not have been released before November 2024.
Duration of the film must exceed sixty (60) minutes.
The film must not have been screened in Egypt before its official screening at CIFF.
The film must not have been screened on any TV or sat channel, or any digital platform or VOD (except for festivals’ screenings) before its official screening at CIFF.
Horizons of Arab Cinema can have an out of competition section, to have special Arabic films at the festival’s discretion.

Article 9:

The board of CIFF will select the jury of the Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition.

All Jury members must not have any professional relation and/or has contributed to the making of any of the films officially selected in the four competitions of CIFF.

Article 10:

To participate in the International Critics’ Week Competition for feature films, the films must meet the following criteria:

The film must be the director’s first or second feature.
The film must not have been released before November 2024.
Duration of the film must exceed sixty (60) minutes.
The film must not have been screened in the MENA region before its official screening at CIFF.
The film must not have been screened on any TV or sat channel, or any digital platform or VOD (except for festivals’ screenings) before its official screening at CIFF.

Article 11:

The board of CIFF will select the jury of the International Critics’ Week Competition.

All Jury members must not have any professional relation and/or has contributed to the making of any of the films officially selected in the four competitions of CIFF.

Article 12:

To participate in the Short Film Competition, films must meet the following criteria:

The film must not have been released before November 2024.
Duration of the short film must not exceed thirty (30) minutes.
All genres of shorts are accepted: fiction, non- fiction, animation, experimental.
The film must not have been screened in the MENA region before its official screening at CIFF.
The film must not have been screened on any TV or sat channel, or any digital platform or VOD (except for festivals’ screenings) before its official screening at CIFF.

Article 13:

The board of CIFF will select the jury of the Short Film Competition.

All Jury members must not have any professional relation and/or has contributed to the making of any of the films officially selected in the four competitions of CIFF.

Article 14:

To participate in Out of Competition, Special Screenings, International Panorama or Midnight Screenings, films must meet all of the following criteria:

The film must not have been released before November 2024.
Duration of the film must exceed sixty (60) minutes.
The film must not have been screened in the MENA region before its official screening at CIFF.
The film must not have been screened on any TV or sat channel, or any digital platform or VOD (except for festivals’ screenings) before its official screening at CIFF.

Article 15:

CIFF online application submission is open from April 20th to August 1st, 2025.

General requirements for films submitting for consideration of CIFF Committee:

All films must fill the required application form on the festival website org.eg.
All films must meet all criteria for the section that they are submitted for as respectively indicated.
All films must send a link to download the film or an online screener protected by a password

Article 16:

The films are selected by an official invitation from CIFF.
The screening of the selected film shall not exceed 5 screenings in accordance with the FIAPF regulations. CIFF reserves the right at its sole description to decide on the screening scheduling time of the film.
Once the film has been selected and the rights owner has confirmed their participation and screening at CIFF in writing, the film cannot be withdrawn from the festival.

General requirements for films participating and screening at CIFF:

The following screening copies of the film to be delivered to CIFF headquarters in Cairo at its own expense no later than October 1st, 2025:
1 DCP physical copy or an online DCP downloadable link
The screening copy must be in the original language of the film.
The screening copy must be with English subtitles.
The screening copies shall be delivered by post to the CIFF address (17 Kasr El Nil Street – Cairo, Egypt). The film title and the director’s name should be printed on the parcel in English, accompanied by the following phrase “Without commercial value and for cultural purposes only.”
The following materials must be sent by an email to films@ciff.org.egno later than October 1st, 2025.
Electronic press kit.
Long and short synopsis of the film.
Poster of the film.
Stills from the film.
Biography, filmography and headshot of the director.
Film main cast and crew.
Film trailer.
Three minutes of the film for promotional purposes.
English spotting list of the film.

Article 17:

CIFF will cover the cost of electronic subtitles in Arabic for films in the International Competition.

Article 18:

In accordance with FIAPF Regulations, physical screening copies will be insured by CIFF for the duration they are in its possession.

Article 19:

CIFF will cover the cost of returning the physical screening copies not later than December 28th, 2025.

Article 20:

By submitting this application, you acknowledge and agree that if your film is accepted and awarded at the festival, it will have an additional screening the day following the awards ceremony, with no additional fees incurred.

Article 21:

Submitting your film to CIFF and acceptance of its participation in CIFF designates full acceptance of all regulation articles, which are issued in Arabic and English and are subject to Egyptian laws. In case of any dispute, the original Arabic text is to be taken as the decisive transcript and the dispute is submitted before Cairo competent courts.

Address of the Cairo International Film Festival

17, Kasr El Nil St, Cairo – Egypt

Tel.: (202) 23923962 – (202) 23923562

Fax: (202) 23938979