CIFF Opens Submissions for the 12th Edition of Cairo Film Connection

The Cairo International Film Festival has opened applications for the 12th edition of Cairo Film Connection, its industry platform for Arab filmmakers, ahead of the festival's 47th edition scheduled for November 2026.
The program supports feature-length projects at the development or post-production stage, offering financial grants, production services, and direct access to international financiers and producers. Now in its second decade, Cairo Film Connection has established itself as one of the region's primary launchpads for Arab cinema at the co-production and financing stage.

To be eligible, applicants must hold Arab nationality or descent and must have previously completed at least one film, short or feature. Projects must be feature-length, fiction or documentary.

Cairo Film Connection sits within a growing ecosystem of Arab industry platforms competing for regional talent, alongside initiatives like the Doha Film Institute's grants program and the Red Sea Fund. Its positioning inside one of the Arab world's oldest and most prominent film festivals gives selected projects visibility at a moment when international appetite for Arab cinema continues to expand, driven in part by recent critical recognition of films from Egypt, Lebanon and the Gulf.

The 47th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival is scheduled to take place in November 2026. Further details on jury composition, grant amounts, and program structure are expected to be announced in the coming months.

The submission window runs from May 10th through August 3rd, 2026, via the festival's official website.