Egyptian Film "Aisha Can't Fly Away" to Screen at South Africa's Durban International Film Festival
Yara Sameh
Following its historic world premiere at Cannes, Morad Mostafa's Egyptian thriller "Aisha Can't Fly Away" is set to hold its African premiere at the 46th Durban International Film Festival, taking place in South Africa from July 17 to 27.
The first Egyptian film in Cannes' Un Certain Regard in nearly a decade, "Aisha Can't Fly Away" received an extended round of rapturous applause and a well-deserved standing ovation at the powerhouse French festival.
Aisha is a 26-year-old Sudanese caregiver living in a neighborhood in the heart of Cairo, where she witnesses the tension between her fellow African migrants and other groups. Unwittingly, she becomes involved with an Egyptian gang that blackmails her into stealing her patients' keys so that they can rob them.
A co-production between Egypt, France, Germany, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Sudan, the film has garnered significant support, including grants from the Doha Film Institute, Cultural Resource Fund, El Gouna Film Festival, Locarno Academy, Cannes' Cinéfondation and La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde, and Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole.
It also notably swept a top award at Red Sea Lodge, five at Venice's Final Cut, as well as the Atlas Award at Marrakech International Film Festival.
The creative team behind "Aisha Can't Fly Away" features several returning faces from Mostafa's "I Promise You Paradise", including cinematographer Mostafa El Kashef, who also worked on last year's Cannes entry "The Village Next to Paradise", which also made its way to Toronto; production designer Eman Elelaby, who earned a FIPRESCI Prize for her work on FEATHERS; costume designer Nayera Eldahshoury; sound engineer Mostafa Shaban; and editor Mohamed Mamdouh.
Produced by Sawsan Yusuf's Bonanza Films, the film is co-produced alongside Dora Bouchoucha and Lina Shaban of Tunisia's Nomadis Images, Sherif Fathy of Shift Studios, Ahmed Amer of A. A. Films, Faisal Baltayour from Cinewaves, Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab of MAD Solutions — the subsidiary of which, MAD World, is handling the film's world sales— May Odeh and Zorana Musikic of Mayana Films, Laura Nikolov of Coorigins, Abellelah Al Ahmary of Arabia Pictures, and associate producer Amjad Abu Alala.
"Aisha Can't Fly Away" boasts a stellar cast, with Buliana Simon taking on the lead role of Aisha alongside Egyptian rapper Ziad Zaza—in his first feature-length appearance—Emad Ghoniem, and Mamdouh Saleh.
Morad Mostafa is an Egyptian film director born in Cairo in 1988 who has worked as an assistant director in the film industry for over ten years.
He is also a graduate of Berlinale Talents, Durban Talents, Locarno Academy, and Cinéfondation Cannes and has been named one of the Arab Stars of Tomorrow by Screen International Magazine in 2023.
Last year, Mostafa was chosen as one of the top 100 influential cinema personalities in the Middle East in an annual list published by the Arab Cinema Center.
He has also participated in several international jury panels, the most recent of which was at the Cairo International Film Festival.
Mostafa is most known for writing and directing "Ward's Henna Party", "What We Don't Know About Mariam", "Khadiga", and "I Promise You Paradise", all of which were selected for the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival — the most important short film festival in the world. These films have been screened at over 400 festivals worldwide and have won around 150 local and international awards.
His latest short film, "I Promise You Paradise", was selected for the 77th Cannes Film Festival's Critics' Week, where it won the Rail d'Or. It also participated in the Locarno International Film Festival and made it to the shortlist of the César Awards.
His first feature film, "Aisha Can't Fly Away", won the Final Cut Award at the 81st Venice International Film Festival and will have its world premiere at the 78th Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard.
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