CIFF Opens Application for New Wave Programme

In 2025, Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) launched the debut edition of its New Wave, a programme for emerging filmmakers, film students, arts and media professionals, and cinephiles living in Egypt outside Cairo. It was created in response to the concentration of CIFF and most film-related opportunities in Cairo,  the heart and centre of the regional film industry. Talented young filmmakers, media professionals, and cinephiles in Beni Suef, Assiut, Al Minya, Aswan, Ismailia, Alexandria, and other governorates are often denied these opportunities due to the distance from the capital and the lack of financial support to access the centre. To address this, the CIFF New Wave was created for these filmmakers as a bridge to the professional industry, fostering connections in the region, and giving them a space to discover their talents and career paths.

The programme has opened applications for its second edition ahead of CIFF, scheduled to run alongside the festival’s 47th edition from November 11th to 20th, 2026. The project is developed in partnership with the Drosos Foundation and supported by the British Council. Applicants can be film students (early career filmmakers and emerging professionals in art and media fields), film professionals in the filmmaking department including production, directing, writing, cinematography, acting, art direction, distribution, curation, and beginners and cinephiles wanting to discover and nurture their relationship with cinema. Priority would be given to applicants from economically marginalized regions in Egypt.

Selected participants will receive full accreditation, domestic travel to and from Cairo, and shared accommodation throughout the program. Successful applicants will receive a six-day talent incubator with full access to CIFF screenings and market, as well as exclusively designed masterclasses and workshops.

The New Wave programme is structured around an introductory orientation, where participants learn how to independently navigate the festival and take part more actively in the experience. This will be followed by film screenings with a designed schedule of recommended films aimed at widening their knowledge and discovering new forms of narratives. There will be exclusive access to Cairo Industry Days, which stands as the festival’s industry arm with its co-production platform at the heart of the festival. Participants will have opportunities to attend masterclasses, panels, and network with local and international professionals. The masterclasses will feature local, regional, and international film professionals. 

According to its communication materials, CIFF wants 75% of the participants to come from outside Cairo, especially from economically marginalised regions of Egypt. There’s also a commitment towards gender equality in selection of participants, ensuring no age ceiling bringing onboard equal opportunities for men and women starting their careers in the film industry. 

Now in its second year, CIFF’s New Wave is designed to expand Egypt’s film industry with film and media professionals and cinephiles whose unrestricted access to opportunities can support the industry’s cinematic and economic growth. The deadline for submission is 15 September.