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Al-Ahram Weekly

Alexandria Short Film Festival kicks off with tribute to Ahmed Malek, Riham Abdel-Ghaffour - Screens - Arts & Culture

The 11th edition of the Alexandria Short Film Festival (ASFF) opened with a vibrant ceremony on Sunday, honouring actor Ahmed Malek and actress Riham Abdel-Ghaffour with the Golden Hypatia Award for their contributions to Arab cinema. Running through 2 May, the festival is being held at multiple venues across the Mediterranean city, including the Alexandria Opera House (Sayed Darwish Theatre), the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Metro Cinema, the Alexandria National Museum, and the Graeco-Roman Museum. The opening night featured a musical performance by the El-Anfoushi Ensemble led by maestro Haitham Medhat Bassiouny, and screenings of Hatch (Canada) and Children of Barzagh (UAE). This year's International Fiction Competition includes 20 short films from across the globe, with entries from Iran, Italy, Chile, Lebanon, Australia, Germany, and beyond. The jury is chaired by acclaimed Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah and includes Russian filmmaker Milyausha Aituganova, Spanish director Manuel Peña, French programmer Camille Varenne of Clermont-Ferrand, and Egyptian actress Sherry Adel. The Arab Film Competition features nine titles: We Are in Need of Cosmic Help (Egypt), In-Out (Lebanon, Bahrain), Umm Salama the Matchmaker (UAE), Milk Brothers (Morocco), Zahra (Jordan), One Last Time (Lebanon), When the Shelves Hymnn (Saudi Arabia), Night of Lovers (Egypt), and When the Sea Meets the Sky (Egypt). ​Additionally, 11 films were selected for the Official Out of Competition segment, including Bogota Story (Colombia), The Surrogate Girl (Turkey), Happy Independence Day (Kazakhstan), The Call (Kosovo), Cleaner (Greece), among others. One notable addition to this year's edition is the AI Film Competition, which presents 13 entries from countries including Algeria, Norway, Tunisia, France, and Egypt — reflecting the rising global interest in artificial intelligence and cinema. The Children's Cinema section will screen eight short films from Qatar, Portugal, the UAE, the US, Tunisia, and Egypt. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Student Film Competition highlights emerging talent through a selection of films — Rasal, Five Stars, Tafida's Cage, The Land of Immortality, Nesma, Tiktak, Qeshta, and Under Control — created by students from institutions including the High Cinema Institute, Beni Suef University, the American University in Cairo, and Helwan University. The animation line-up spans the globe, with entries including Sensitive Strings (UK), Detlev (Germany), Urban Duo (China), The Song of Flying Leaves (Armenia), and Cannot Sleep (Japan). Beyond screenings, ASFF 2025 is offering a robust programme of masterclasses, workshops, and panels — such as Digitizing Artistic Heritage and Challenges of Preserving Cultural Legacy with actors Mahmoud Hemeida and Ahmed Shaker. Highlights include sessions on preserving artistic heritage, special effects (director Ahmed Orabi), and children's cinema. Malek and Abdel-Ghaffour will lead an acting masterclass, while a panel on The Role of Women in Art features actress Entisar and filmmaker Kawthar Younis. A seminar exploring the intersections of artificial intelligence and film will also be held. In support of emerging talent, director Karim El-Shennawy has introduced a new award in memory of his late mother, filmmaker Maha El-Shennawy, aimed at recognizing excellence in student filmmaking. The festival will close with another round of the Golden Hypatia Awards, honouring sound engineer Moustafa Shaaban and filmmaker Emad Maher. This year's official festival poster, designed by Abdelrahman Ahmed, features Alexandria's citadel and boats, symbols of cinematic inspiration. The Palestinian flag appears alongside Egypt's, in a gesture of cultural solidarity. Organized by the Arts' Circle (Dayret Al-Fann) Association, the Alexandria Short Film Festival is a grassroots initiative founded in 2015 by Mohamed Mahmoud, Mohamed Saadoun, and artistic director Mony Mahmoud. Over the past decade, it has evolved into a vital platform for showcasing short films and nurturing emerging voices in Arab and international through 2 May, the festival is being held at multiple venues across the Mediterranean city, including the Alexandria Opera House (Sayed Darwish Theatre), the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Metro Cinema, the Alexandria National Museum, and the Graeco-Roman Museum. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link: