The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Featured image from It Must be Heaven: © Rectangle productions, Nazira films, Pallas film, Possibles Media, Zeyno film

Springtime comes to Cairo, delivering a host of festivals that cater to all tastes; from children’s Hakawy, and Cairo International Animation Forum, to Zawya’s annual Cairo Cinema Days. The Latter, which is set to take place this March from the 4^th, to the 30^th  at Zaywa Cinema in Emad El Deen, screens some of the region’s best productions.

Gathering acclaimed and award-winning productions from countries like, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and more, Zawya’s Fourth Edition of Cairo Cinema Days serves You Will Die at Twenty; the Sudanese drama that won Carthage Film Festival 2019’s Best Screenplay, and Venice Film Festival 2019’s Luigi De Laurentiis Award. It’s set to be screened on both the 4^th and 6^th of March at 7.00 PM.

There’s also Nadine Labaky’s historical drama, 1982, which earned the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival – Labaky’s proved to be one of the region’s best directors, so you don’t want to miss on that one. Check it out on the 5^th and 7^th of March, at 9.00 and 7.00 PM, respectively.

Noura’s Dream, the Tunisian drama starring Hend Sabry is another one to look for; her performance earned her Best Actress In a Narrative Feature Film Award at Carthage Film Festival 2019, while the movie itself won the FIPRESCI Prize (handed by the International Federation of Film Critics) at  Torino FIlm Festival 2019. It will be screened on 27^th and 30^th of March at 7.00 PM.

Comedy lovers should look out for Moroccan The Unknown Saint, which, to be screened on the 18^th at 7.00 and the 20^th at 9.00 PM, was featured among the screenings of Cannes 2019’s Critics Week. There’s also Elia Suleiman’s It Must Be Heaven, which earned Canne’s FIPRESCI Prize and Special Mention in 2019; a personal favourite; this one tackles the concept of home and identity in a lighthearted, visually appealing, and profound way. Catch it on the 11^th at 7.00 PM, or the 13^th at 9.30 PM.

Check the whole lot here.