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Cairo International Film Festival - General - regulations

REGULATIONS Of The 32th CAIRO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

(18th – 28th November 2008) Recognized by the FIAPF

Article 1: The goal of The Cairo International Film Festival is to promote films, to create artistic links between different nations, to encourage comprehension and meetings between cinema professionals around the world and to develop the Film industry in the Arab world, in the Middle East and all over the world

Article 2: The 32nd Cairo International Film Festival will be held from 18th – 28th November 2008..

Article 3: The Committee of Cairo International Film Festival is responsible for selecting and inviting films to participate in :


  1. Competition
    1. International Competition for Long Feature Films
    2. International Digital Competition
    3. Arab Film Competition

  2. Out of Competition
    1. Special guest: a region or a country
    2. Festival of Festivals
    3. Information Section
    4. Retrospective
    5. Tributes
    6. Special Sections(Egyptian Cinema 2006-2007, New Arab Cinema & other sections)
    7. Film Market (Special Regulations)

Article 4: Rules covering :

1- International Competition For Long Feature Films
  • It will not be screened in this section any film that already has competed at another International Festival.
  • Films should have been produced after July 2007.
  • Each country has the right to participate with more than one film.
  • Films, not in English language, should be submitted in their original version with English subtitles.
  • DVD and VHS cassettes sent to the selection committee must be delivered before September 1st 2008 with publicity material and with the mention "No commercial value and for cultural purpose only"
  • Selected films in the International competition will have Arab electronic subtitles.
  • The Festival would be grateful to the producers of the awarded films if they would accept to deposit a print of their film or possibly, a DVD or a VHS with the Festival archives, which formally pledge to refrain from screening the film unless they have obtained the written agreement of its producer.
2- International Digital Competition
  • Film should have been produced after July 2007
  • Each country has the right to participate with more than one feature film.
  • Films not in English language, should be submitted in their original version with English subtitles.
  • DVD and VHS cassettes sent to the selection committee must be delivered before September 1st 2008 with publicity material and with the mention "No commercial value and for cultural purpose only".
  • The Festival would be grateful to the producers of the awarded films if they would accept to deposit a DVD or a VHS with the Festival archives.
3- Arab Film Competition
  • Film should have been produced during 2008
  • Each country has the right to participate with more than one feature film.
  • Films should be submitted in their original Arabic Language with English subtitles.
  • DVD and VHS cassettes sent to the selection committee must be delivered before September 1st 2008 with publicity material and with the mention "No commercial value and for cultural purpose only".
  • The Festival would be grateful to the producers of the awarded films if they would accept to deposit a DVD or a VHS with the Festival archives.

Article 5: The Juries:
The Festival management each year appoints the members of the different Juries:
  • An International Jury for long feature films competition.
  • An International Jury for Digital Competition.
  • An Arab Jury for Arab Film Competition.
  • The International and Arab Juries will be composed according to the rules of the FIAPF:
    • The International and Arab juries will be composed of prominent personalities in the field of cinema with a genuine knowledge of the film industry.
    • Will not be included as Jury member any person in any way connected with the production or commercial exploitation of a competitive entry.

Article 6: Prizes:
A. Long feature films competition

The International Jury for long feature films competition will present the following prizes :
  1. The Golden Pyramid (Prize for the Best Film) presented to the producer ( The award should not be attributed ex-aequo)
  2. The Silver Pyramid (Special Jury Prize) presented to the director.
  3. The Prize for Best Actress.
  4. The Prize for Best Actor.
  5. The Prize for the Best director.
  6. The Prize for the Best Script (Saad El- Din Wahba Prize ).
  7. The prize for the Best First or Second work of a director (NAGUIB MAHFOUZ Prize ).
  8. The prize for the Best Artistic Contribution (Presented to the director).
  9. The International Jury cannot present more than two awards to the same film.
  10. The International Jury can award two special mentions.
B. Digital competition

The International Jury for Digital Feature Films Competition will present the following prizes.
  1. The Golden Award : 10.000$ (shared between the producer and the director ).
  2. The Silver Award : 6.000 $ (shared between the producer and the director).
C. Arab Film Competition

The Arab Jury for the Arab Film Competition will present a prize of 100.000 Egyptian pounds to be remitted by the Ministry of Culture and to be shared equally between the producer and the director.

Article 7: General Conditions covering all other Festival's Sections :
  • All films screened in Cairo International Film Festival must be Egypt premieres.
  • Prints in their original version must be with English subtitles.
  • "Original Version" means any version in which a film is exhibited in its country of origin.
  • The English subtitles are obligatory even for Egyptian and Arabic Films.
  • Arabic subtitles may be included and may be made by the Festival's Secretariat at the participant's own expenses. In this case, the print must arrive to the Festival's management one month before the deadline mentioned in these regulations.
  • Before sending the print, participants are required to send the publicity materials, and film extracts if they wish to avail of promoting the film on television.

Article 8: During the period of the Festival , no invited film will be withdrawn from the Festival’s program .

Article 9: Each participating film may be projected five times, as maximum (including the press screening) during the Festival’s period.

Article 10: During the period of the Festival , none of the participating films will be screened outside the projection halls of the Festival .

Article 11: The Festival accepts feature films 35 mm.

Article 12: The deadline of receiving the entry forms and publicity material of each film is September 22nd , 2008.

Article 13: The deadline of sending the print to Cairo International Airport is October 23rd , 2008.

Article 14: The Festival is responsible of respecting the regulations of the FIAPF concerning piracy.

Article 15: The Festival is responsible of the storehouse where the Films are deposited since their arrival until their expedition.

Article 16: All conditions and the above- mentioned dates are obligatory.

Article 17: The expenses of shipping films from their country to
Cairo International Airport will be shouldered by the participants.
Films will be sent back to the participants within two weeks of the Festival closing date. Expenses of reshipping will be shouldered by the Festival as well as of storage, insurance and local transportation.

Article 18: The Films are insured by the Festival since their arrival at Cairo International Airport and till their reshipment.
Should a print be lost, the Festival’s responsibility could be engaged only to the extent of the value indicated by the producer on the entry form (not more than $ 2500). In the case of damage, any claims lodged by the participant must be communicated to the Festival attached by an invoice from a laboratory at the latest one month after receiving his print back in order not to lose his right with the insurance company.

Article 19: The president of the Cairo International Film Festival has the power to settle all cases not covered by the present rules but according to the provisions of the international regulations.

Article 20: This regulation form is issued in Arabic and has been translated into English and French. It is liable to International and Egyptian laws and to the conditions and regulations set forth by the FIAPF.
In case of conflicting interpretations, the Arabic text will be used.

Article 21: Participation in the Festival means acceptance of all conditions mentioned in these regulations.

Address of the Cairo International Film Festival

17, Kasr El Nil St, Cairo - Egypt
Tel. : ( 202) 23923962 - (202) 23923562
Fax : (202) 23938979
E-mail: Info@cairofilmfest.org


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