Cairo International Film Festival for Children

The Cairo International Film Festival for Children is Egypt’s state-run international children’s film festival, organized by the Ministry of Culture and held in Cairo since 1990, where it is described as the oldest and largest children’s film festival in Africa (Animation World Network; Ahram Online). Its 22nd and most recently documented edition ran 20–27 March 2015 with more than 165 films and artworks from 36 countries (Egypt Independent). This is a separate event from the general Cairo International Film Festival, the FIAPF Category “A” festival launched in 1976 (Med Culture).

History and organization

The festival has been based in Cairo since 1990, presented as the oldest and largest children’s film festival in Africa — a characterization relayed by Animation World Network from Mohamed Ghazala, president of the Egyptian chapter of the animation society ASIFA (Animation World Network). It is organized by Egypt’s Ministry of Culture, the same ministry that stages the country’s main Cairo International Film Festival, which is one reason the two events are frequently confused (Ahram Online; Med Culture).

Its administration is drawn from the ministry’s cultural apparatus. For the planned 22nd edition, Mohamed Afifi — secretary general of the Supreme Council for Culture — was named general supervisor, Soheir Abdel Qader as secretary general, and Iman Sanad, head of the Egyptian National Center for Children Culture, as general director (Egypt Independent). At the 18th edition in 2008, Fawzy Fahmy served as festival president with Sohier Abdel Kader as general manager (Daily News Egypt). The festival was cancelled in 2011 and 2013 over budget issues and political turmoil, with the 21st edition going ahead in 2012 between the two skipped years (Egypt Independent).

How the festival works

Competition is divided by form. The 2010 edition ran two competitive sections — long and short feature films, and animation & TV programmes — while the 2012 edition’s programme listed 21 films in the feature and short film section, 54 in the animated film section and about 20 documentaries (India Forums; Ahram Online). The 2012 edition’s stated aim, under the slogan “The Children’s World is Changing”, was to sustain artistic exchange and encourage films depicting the problems of children aged 6 to 18 (AnimationXpress). Children help decide the winners: in 2008, 100 children from 100 schools joined the jury, and the 2010 juries included children from Egypt, Italy, Jordan, India, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, the UK, the USA and Indonesia (Daily News Egypt; India Forums).

The Cairo Opera House is the flagship venue, but screenings have reached far beyond it: the 2008 edition played in Cairo cinemas, public libraries, hospitals, the Press Syndicate screening room and Ministry of Culture culture palaces, then toured 13 governorates from Alexandria to Aswan (Daily News Egypt). Parallel programming has included industry seminars and child-focused outreach — UNICEF’s Soutna (Our Voice) project trained children in media skills at the 2006 festival, and the 2008 edition hosted a seminar on health, nutrition and water sanitation (Daily News Egypt).

Notable editions

The 18th edition, held 6–13 March 2008 with 70 films from 42 countries, was overshadowed by controversy: the Golden Cairo award for best feature went to the Dutch short “Doggie”, after the festival had considered banning Dutch films over a Dutch MP’s planned film portraying Islam as a fascist religion — a decision some critics dismissed as a publicity stunt (Daily News Egypt). The same edition screened Kishan Shrikanth’s “Care of Footpath” — Shrikanth was then recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s youngest feature film director — and Pankaj Sharma’s animated “Bal Ganesh” (Daily News Egypt). The 20th edition (4–11 March 2010) drew more than 125 films; India’s “Roadside Romeo” won the Special Children’s International Jury Prize for animation, accepted in Cairo on 11 March by the Indian ambassador R. Swaminathan (India Forums).

The 21st edition (23–30 March 2012) opened at the Cairo Opera House with the Dutch film “Fuschia the Mini-Witch”, honoured Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Mashharawy and Egyptian actors Hanan Turk, Hany Ramzy and Karim Abdel Aziz, and hosted 68 countries with Greece as guest of honour — and it nominated India’s “Krish, Trish and Baltiboy 2” in the children’s animation category (Ahram Online; AnimationXpress). The 22nd edition was announced for 26 March–2 April 2015 but ultimately ran 20–27 March, with its viewing and selection committee chaired by Khayria Bashmawi (Egypt Independent).

Verified editions at a glance

Edition	Year	Dates	Scale	Notable
18th	2008	6–13 March	70 films, 42 countries	Golden Cairo for best feature to the Dutch short “Doggie” amid a Dutch-film ban controversy; 100-child jury (Daily News Egypt)
20th	2010	4–11 March	125+ films, children’s juries from 10 countries	India’s “Roadside Romeo” wins the children’s jury animation prize (India Forums)
21st	2012	23–30 March	68 countries; Greece guest of honour	“Krish, Trish and Baltiboy 2” (India) nominated in children’s animation; opened with “Fuschia the Mini-Witch” (Ahram Online; AnimationXpress)
22nd	2015	20–27 March	165+ works, 36 countries	Viewing and selection committee chaired by Khayria Bashmawi (Egypt Independent)

Participation fell from 68 countries in 2012 to 36 in 2015 (Ahram Online; Egypt Independent) — a contraction that fits a festival which had cancelled its 2011 and 2013 editions outright (Egypt Independent).

Frequently asked questions

Is this the same as the Cairo International Film Festival? No — they are separate events that share a home city and a government patron. The general Cairo International Film Festival was launched in 1976 and holds FIAPF Category “A” status, screening in November; the children’s festival has been based in Cairo since 1990, runs in March, and is built around films for and by children. Both are organized under Egypt’s Ministry of Culture.

Why were the 2011 and 2013 editions cancelled? Al-Masry Al-Youm, via Egypt Independent, reported the cancellations were due to “budget issues and political turmoil.” The 21st edition still ran in March 2012 between the two skipped years, and the 22nd followed in 2015. No further reason was given in the sources read for this profile.

What is the Golden Cairo award? The festival’s top honour. In 2008 it went to Simon Van Dasildrop’s Dutch short “Doggie” for best feature — a contentious choice, because the festival had just weighed banning Dutch films after a Dutch MP announced a film portraying Islam as a fascist religion. Some critics called the award a publicity stunt.

Who judges the films? Adults and children together. The 2008 press conference announced that 100 children from 100 different schools would decide the winners alongside the adult jury, and the 2010 edition fielded children’s juries from ten countries, including Egypt, India, the UK and the USA. Industry personalities from around the world complete the adult side.

Where does the festival screen its films? The Cairo Opera House is the flagship venue, but the 2008 edition also played in Cairo cinemas, public libraries, hospitals and Ministry of Culture culture palaces, and toured 13 governorates — including Alexandria, Aswan, Port Said and Ismailia — with seminars and press conferences alongside the screenings.

What this profile does not claim

• It does not claim a 23rd edition was ever held or that the festival is currently active; no source read in full documents an edition after the 22nd (2015).
• It does not name a founder or give a founding month; “since 1990” rests on the Animation World Network report relaying ASIFA Egypt, and no earlier history was verified.
• It does not resolve the 22nd edition’s announced versus held dates (announced 26 March–2 April 2015, later reported as held 20–27 March 2015); it uses the later report and flags the discrepancy.
• It does not treat the 20th edition’s scale and jury details as more than provisional; they rest on a single tier3 report (India Forums), flagged in openItems.
• It does not assert that the variant names found in coverage — “Cairo International Children’s Film Festival” (Ahram) and “Cairo International Cinema and Arts Festival for Children” (2015 listings) — are official; it uses the Ministry of Culture’s form.