From January 9 to 14, 2025, the historic city of Luxor is preparing to host the 14th edition of the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF), a major event for African cinema. With a rich program of 65 films representing 35 countries, the festival stands out as a showcase of the continent’s creativity and diversity.
This diversity is also reflected in the composition of the juries, which will have the difficult task of deciding between the films in competition, each as promising as the next.
The members of the juries:
Feature film competition
Chaired by Senegalese director Moussa Sène Absa, with members including Sudanese director Ibrahim Shaddad, Egyptian screenwriter Tamer Habib, Algerian director Sofia Djama, and Ghanaian actress Akosua Busia.
Short film competition
Chaired by the Egyptian novelist and screenwriter Ahmed Mourad, accompanied by the Moroccan critic Abdelkrim Oukarim, the Senegalese critic Najib Sagna, the South African director Andrea Fuchs and the Sudanese director Amjad Abu Alaa.
African Diaspora Competition
A trio of experts make up this jury: producer and distributor Gabriel Khoury (Egypt), Sierra Leonean producer and festival director Mahen Bonetti, and Egyptian director Amir Ramses.
Egyptian Student Film Competition
With Dr Mohamed Chafik, Dr Mona El Saban and Dr Hicham Gamal, this section promotes the younger generation.
Official selections: An eclectic program
The competition brings together various works such as:
Feature films
- The Bird of Paradise/Asfour Jenna directed by Mourad Belcheikh (Tunisia).
- 112 directed by Joel M’Maka Tchedri (Togo).
- Demba directed by Mamadou Dia (Senegal).
- Disco Africa directed by Luc Razanakavana (Madagascar).
- Marriage directed by Fatou Cissé (Mali).
- For the first time directed by John Ikram (Egypt).
- Love is king directed by Heba Yousri (Egypt).
- Without trial directed by Vicky Patterson (Cameroon).
- The man is dead directed by Awan Mkaba (Nigeria).
- The true stories of the Blida Joinville psychiatric hospital directed by Abdelnour Zahzah (Algeria).
- Who are you? directed by Jean Kiozi (Rwanda).
Short films
- Ayo directed by Françoise Ellong-Gomez and Yolande Bonjuila Ekel (Cameroon).
- Chikha directed by Ayoub El Yousfi and Zahwa Raji (Morocco).
- Reflections directed by Nanua Aliju (Nigeria).
- The directed by Intissar Al-Azhari (Morocco).
- Lettres directed by Ali Ahmed Babiker (Sudan).
- Download directed by Anis Lassoued (Tunisia).
- Crime mental directed by William Kojo (Ghana).
- Aguelhok directed by Ousmane Samassékou (Mali).
- Here directed by Hisham Ali Abdel Khaleq (Egypt).
- Protection of the demonstration directed by Bismarck Aryee (Ghana).
- Quarantine and rest directed by David Kabale (South Africa).
- Your father probably directed by Taieb Talba and Sidi Mohamed Talba (Mauritania)
- Abed’s Night directed by Anis Ejad (Algeria).
African Diaspora Films
- Campus World directed by Ntavava Yannick Edoh (Benin – Senegal).
- Django: Life of a Refugee directed by David Fidel (Australia – Morocco).
- White directed by Ben Donatio and Michel Bassous Zilberberg (Switzerland).
- Dahomey directed by Mati Diop (Senegal).
- The Mothership directed by Muriel Cravate (France – Belgium).
Egyptian student films
- My name is Dahab directed by Ahmed Yacoub.
- The Germ of the Earth directed by Mohamed Hamed Salama.
- The Sparrow Trap directed by Ahmed Khalil.
- He plays in my pocket directed by Antonios Basily.
- Victoria’s Secret directed by Basma Farah Nancy.
- The beginning of the path directed by Yohana Achraf.
- Plan Bees directed by Nour Khaled.
- Confused dreamer who dies directed by Hossam Waleed.
- The lives of your loved ones directed by Ahmed Hamed.
- The City Moon directed by Rim Hijab.
- The Astrologer Barber directed by Amro Mostafa and Sara Hijazi.
Official selection Out of competition
- Abdalla” directed by Ahmed Gamry (Egypt).
- Katsaros directed by Mohamed El Hadidi (Egypt).
- Complete sensory disturbance directed by Ahmed Hussein (Egypt).
- Metanoia directed by Jacinta Barros (Mozambique).
- Port of time directed by Sara Elias (Egypt).
Panorama of Palestinian film
- Non directed by Hana Aloue and taken from the anthology film Ground Zero
- Short film about children directed by Ibrahim Handhal.
- On the sea directed by Wissam Al Jafari.
- Bethlehem directed by Ibrahim Handhal.
Tributes: Celebration of emblematic figures
The festival pays tribute to:
- Khaled El Nabawy (Egyptian actor)
- Magda Ahmed Ali (Egyptian director)
- Ahmed Hafiane (Tunisian actor)
- He will learn Busia (Ghanaian actress and director)
- Moussa Sene Absa (Senegalese director)
Films screened in their honor will include: The Citizen (2012), The emigrant (1994), The Dealer (2010), et One day and one night (2020) by Khaled El Nabawy, Birds of the Nile (2009) de Magdy Ahmed Ali, Xalé, childhood wounds (2022) by Moussa Sène Absa, and Stevie Wonder: In Search of a Blessed Life (2024) directed by Akosua Busia.
Dedicated edition: Special tribute
This 14th edition, which will bear the name of the great Egyptian actor Nour El Sherif, in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of his death, is dedicated to several major figures of cinema:
- Safie Faye (first internationally recognized Senegalese director).
- With Hondo (Mauritanian director).
- Atef Beshay (Egyptian screenwriter).
- Tayeb Saddiki (Moroccan director and actor).
- Khemais Khaati (Tunisian review)
- Choukri Sarhan (legendary Egyptian actor), celebrating the centenary of his birth.
Their contribution to the seventh Art will be celebrated through special screenings and discussions about their legacy.
Festival publications
The festival will publish several works this year, including:
- Pioneer of African cinemain Arabic and French, dedicated to the Senegalese director Safie Faye. Written by Nadjibo Sanya, presented by Thierno Dia, translated by Sherif Awad.
- Nour El Sherif: A reading of the professor’s journeywritten by Gamal Abdel Kader in collaboration with Nefertiti editions.
- Son of the Nilea book dedicated to Choukri Sarhan, written by Samah Fathy.
- A new ceiling for creativityby Khaled El Nabawy, written by Ayman El-Hakim.
Workshops as part of the local development program
Several workshops will be organized to enrich the skills of participants:
- Film review with Rami Abdel Razeq.
- Acting with Ahmed Mokhtar.
- Film production with Khaled El Hagar.
- Filming with a cell phone with Dr Mohamed Chafik.
- Interactive assessment with Haitham Shoukry.
- Animation for children with Dr Wael Nour.
- Online Film Education with Dr. Mona El Saban.
- Cinematographic editing with Mohamed Ghoneim.
- Principles of Screenwriting with Dr. Dalia Bassiouni.
- Jewelry creation and textile printing with Dr Riha Abdel Rahman.
- Cinema for children with Chwikar Khalifa.
- Elements of Cinematographic Art with Dr. Ashraf Tawfik.
Forum on the future of film festivals in the digital age
The festival will inaugurate a special forum on January 11 and 12, entitled “The future of African festivals in the age of digitalization”.
This forum constitutes a space for collaboration and exchange of ideas between filmmakers, festival directors and experts. Among the participants are:
- Azeddine Jriran, president of the Khouribga Festival in Morocco
- Gaby Khoury, producer and distributor
- Andrea Voges, programmer and director of the Durban Festival
- Mahen Bonetti, director of the New York African Film Festival
- Charaf Eddine Zine Eddine, president of the Dakhla International Festival
- Mohamed Monji, producer and editor-in-chief at Al Jazeera
- Sherif Mandour, producer and distributor
- Essam Zakaria, director of the Cairo Film Festival
- Antonio Flamini, director of the Rome African Film Festival
- Orkia Toubarou, representative of FESPACO (Burkina Faso)
Forum discussions will be moderated by critic Andrew Mohsen.
The forum will focus on using technology to support the African film industry and strengthen its role globally. Its objective is to discuss challenges and opportunities, and to take concrete measures to promote the evolution of African cinema, while increasing its visibility and influence on the international scene.
Main themes covered
Director Azza El Hosseiny, director of the forum and the festival, specified that the discussions will focus on several axes:
- The exploration of digital tools in film production.
- Strengthening collaboration between African filmmakers.
- Intellectual property issues in the age of artificial intelligence.
- Empowering young people through training of trainers (TOT) programs.
Innovations discussed
Azza El Hosseiny also indicated that affordable digital tools will be examined to make film production accessible to all, such as editing applications and new narrative techniques. The forum aims to enable filmmakers to produce high-quality content on limited budgets.
Another key theme will be “Social networks and interaction with the public”which will highlight the importance of social platforms as essential tools to reach viewers directly, bypassing traditional distribution channels.
Finally, the subject “The enduring power of cinema” will explore how African cinema documents shared cultural and human identity, using the art of storytelling to create timeless connections.
Screenwriter Sayed Fouad, president of the festival, stressed that the forum aims to go beyond simple debates to adopt concrete actions in favor of African cinema, in order to ensure its lasting impact on a local and international scale. Practical topics, such as digital marketing strategies and intellectual property rights in the digital age, will be covered.
Neïla Driss