Cairo International Film Festival

There are 64 feature length films showing from 30 countries, with 28 from Europe, six from Latin America and five from the US and Canada. 48 of the films will be receiving their Middle East and African premieres, there are five international premieres and four world premieres.

The international competition features 16 films from 14 countries and there are 13 special screenings. This year Greece is the country of honour, to mark the centennial of Greek cinema. For the first time this year the festival is featuring documentaries and animations.

The opening film is The Cut (2014) by Fatih Akin, about a man who survives the Armenian genocide during world war one, loses everything, including his speech, and then discovers that his daughters may still be alive. Akin was born in Germany but is of Turkish origin. The genocide which took place under Ottoman rule is still denied by Turkey.

The annual film festival is organised by Egypt's ministry of culture. For details of the programme see the CIFF website. Most of the showings are Cairo Opera House.