The Cairo Film Festival’s Cairo Film Connection co-production platform wrapped Saturday with a glamorous prize ceremony which saw Egyptian first-timer Adhan El-Sherif’s “Ravens of the City” and French-Egyptian filmmaker Namir Abdel Messeeh’s “Life After Siham” stand out, though awards were widely spread.
“Ravens” of the City,” a gritty drama in development about a reckless hustler named Gharib who desperately needs cash to enter a street car race and falls prey to a money lender, scored four awards worth a total of $60,000 in cash. Produced by Sudan’s Mohammed Alomda (“You Will Die at Twenty”), “Ravens” will be getting consulting from U.S. non-profit Film Independent, which collaborates with Cairo.
Reflecting director Messeeh’s bi-cultural background, “Life After Siham,” is about a French film director conducting a filmmaking workshop in Egypt which turns into a way for him to confront the trauma of his mother’s death. “Siham,” which is co-produced by France’s Camille Laemle and Egypt’s Ali El Araby, scored three awards, including a $50,000 minimum guarantee for distribution in the Arab world via Mad Solutions.
Other Cairo Film Connection standouts include “Nour” by Egypt’s Sara Shazli (“Back Home”) a coming-of-age drama involving a close friendship between two teenage girls that becomes toxic; and Brooklyn-based Egyptian director Farida Zahran’s Cairo-set comedy “The Leftover Ladies,” about a 63-year-old woman who tries to leave her polygamist husband.
At Cairo Film Connection, which is run by Chadi Zeneddine, who is a former Doha Film Institute programmer, some of the prizes are decided by the sponsors – who provided a total of more than $300,000 in support – while others were decided by a jury made up by Lebanon’s Hania Mroueh, of Metropolis Cinema in Beirut; France’s Alice Karroubi, programming director of the Cannes market; and Egyptian director Sherif El-Bandary.
Here is the complete list of Cairo Film Connection winners
Sponsor Prizes
“Ravens of the City” – Egypt, Sudan – Fiction Film in development
OSN – $50,000 Licensing Agreement
Director: Adham El Sherif
Producer: Mohamed Al Omda
“Life after Siham” – France, Egypt – Fiction Film in Development
MAD Solutions & Ergo – MAD – Ergo, Award: Distribution in the Arab World with a Minimum Guarantee of $50,000
Director: Namir Abdel Messeeh
Producers: Camille Laemle, Ali El Araby
“The Leftover Ladies” – Egypt, U.S. Fiction Film in Development
Shahid – $15,000 Cash Award
Director: Farida Zahran
Producer: Leah Chen Baker
“American Dream” Egypt – Doc In Development
IEFTA – In-kind Award – IEFTA Memtorship Award: The IEFTA mentorship program is a focused and intensive initiative involving working with the filmmaker and their team from development to distribution.
Director: Amir El Shenawy
Producer: Ahmed Abdelslam
“Nour” – Egypt – Fiction Film In Development
The Cell – In-Kind Award –– DCP package for a project in the post production
Director: Sara Shazli
Producer: Marianne Khoury
“My Driver and I” – KSA, U.K., France – Fiction Film in Development
The Cell – Color grading for a project in the post production
Director: Ahd Kamel
Producer: Georgie Paget
“American Dream” – Egypt – Doc In Development
The Cell – Promotional package to a project in post production (teaser and trailer)
Director: Amir El Shenawy
Producer: Ahmed Abdelslam
“A Summer in Boujad” – Morocco – Fiction In Post-Production
Arab Cinema in Sweden – Distribution in Sweden with a Minimum Guarantee of $5,000 and Marketing Campaign
Director: Omar Mouldouira
Producer: Mohamed Nadif
“Life after Siham” – France, Egypt – Fiction Film in Development
ART – $10,000 Cash
Director : Namir Abdel Messeh
Producers : Camille Laemle, Ali El Araby
“Ravens of the City” – Egypt – Sudan – Fiction In Development
Cornerstone – $10,000 Cash Award
Director: Adham El Sherif
Producer: Mohamed Al Omda
“Nezouh” – Syria – UK – France Fiction in Post
Rotana – $10,000 Cash
Director : Soudade Kaadan
Producer : Yu-Fai Suen
Cairo Film Connection Awards selected by a jury
“Bullets do not Kill. Silence Does” – Tunisia – France – Doc in Development
Palm hills: Badya – $10,000 Cash
Director : Hind Meddeb
Producer : Michel Zana
“Alam” – Palestine-France-Tunisia – Fiction Film in Post-Production
Etisalat – $10,000 Cash Award
Director : Firas Khoury
Producer: Melik Kochbat
“Ravens of the City” – Egypt – Sudan – Fiction Film In Development
Film Independent: Virtual Consulting for a fiction feature film project in development
Director: Adham El Sherif
Producer: Mohamed Al Omda
“Nour” – Egypt – Fiction Film In Development
Film Independent: Virtual Consulting for a fiction feature film project in development
Director: Sara Shazli
Producer: Marianne Khoury
“Aicha” – Tunisia-France Fiction Film In Development
Arabia Pictures – $10,000 Cash
Director: Mahdi Barsaoui
Producer: Habib Attia
“Bye Bye Tiberias” – Palestine-France – Belgium – Qatar – Doc in Development
Nation Production – $10,000 Cash Award
Director: Lina Soualem
Producer: Jean-Marie Nizan
“In the Land of Aram” – Armenia-Lebanon-France – Fiction In Development
AH Media Production – $10,000 Cash Award
Director: Tamara Stepanyan
Producer: Stéphane Jourdain
“On the Hill” – Tunisia – Documentary in Post-Production
Red Sea International Film Festival – $10,000 Cash Award
Director: Belhassen Handous
Producer : Ala Eddine Slim
“Ravens of the City” – Egypt – Sudan – Fiction Film In Development
Arab Cinema Center – In-kind award
The award is an invitation given to the winning project’s producer to attend the Rotterdam Lab, held on the sidelines of the 2021 International Film Festival Rotterdam – IFFR in the Netherlands
Director: Adham El Sherif
Producer: Mohamed Al Omda
“Mohsen of Iraq” – Iraq – Costa Rica – Documentary in Post-Production
Clakett
$5,000 Cash and In-kind award.
Director: Ishtar Yasin
“Aicha” – Tunisia-France – Fiction Film In Development
Lagoonie Film Production – $5,000 Cash Award
Director: Mahdi Barsaoui
Producer: Habib Attia
“My Driver and I” – KSA-UK – France – Fiction In Development
New Black – $5,000 Cash Award and Color Grading and Offline Editing Facilities
Director: Ahd Kamel
Producer: Georgie Paget
“The Leftover Ladies” – Egypt- U.S. – Fiction Film in Development
Sard writing room -$5,000 USD Cash Award and Script Doctoring for a feature fiction project in development
Director: Farida Zahran
Producer: Leah Chen Baker