CAIRO — MedFest Egypt will showcase more than 85 short films from over 25 countries during its eighth edition, running from September 10 to 14 at the American University in Cairo’s Tahrir Square campus, as the specialised festival broadens its programme connecting cinema, health and human experience.
Held under the theme “Beyond the Scene,” the festival will present fiction, documentary, animation and experimental films across 11 programmes, including six dedicated to its official short-film competition.
The international jury includes Tampere Film Festival Director Jukka-Pekka Laakso, Egyptian filmmaker Maryam Abou Ouf, writer and actor Ahmed Abdel Wahab, FIPRESCI Vice-President Elena Rubashevska and psychiatrist Dr Nehal Zein.
The Best Film Award carries an EGP50,000 prize, while the Best Emerging Egyptian Director award, presented in partnership with the French Embassy and French Institute in Cairo, will offer its winner the opportunity to travel to France and attend the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.
A new cinematography prize will honour late photographers Maged Helal and Kyrillos Salah, both members of the MedFest community.
“Each new edition of MedFest Egypt brings an addition that reflects our commitment to continuous growth and development,” festival founder and director Mina El Naggar said, citing both the increasing number of participating films and the expansion of awards.
The non-competitive Panorama will extend MedFest’s international links through films associated with a visiting Hamburg festival, Prague’s FAMU film school and UAE-based short-film platform Cineolio.
For the first time, the festival will also screen shortlisted entries from its 72-Hour Filmmaking Challenge, creating a festival exhibition route for emerging filmmakers required to write, shoot and edit a complete short film within three days.
Founded in 2017, MedFest has expanded its activities beyond film screenings to include workshops, discussions and talent-development initiatives linking filmmaking with medicine, mental health and wider social issues.
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