In a triumphant breakthrough for Egyptian cinema, Morad Mostafa’s AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY — a gripping thriller set in Cairo’s underworld — is due to compete as part of the 78th Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard.
The 78th edition of the world-renowned festival will run from May 13th to the 24th.
Directed by Morad Mostafa, the milestone marks Egypt’s first participation in the festival’s second-most prominent competition in almost a decade since the 2016 film CLASH.
AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY follows the story of Aisha, a Sudanese girl living in the working-class neighborhood of Ain Shams, which hosts a large community of African migrants. When Aisha runs into trouble in her job as a caretaker, she finds herself hard-pressed to curry favor with Zuka — a gang member who controls the area — in exchange for her protection.
A co-production between Egypt, France, Germany, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Sudan, the film has garnered significant support; including grants from the Doha Film Institute, Cultural Resource Fund, El Gouna Film Festival, Locarno Academy, Cannes’ Cinéfondation and La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde, and Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole. It also notably swept a top award at Red Sea Lodge, five at Venice’s Final Cut, as well as the Atlas Award at Marrakech International Film Festival.
The creative team behind AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY features several returning faces from Mostafa’s I PROMISE YOU PARADISE, including cinematographer Mostafa El Kashef, who also worked on last year’s Cannes entry THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE, which also made its way to Toronto; production designer Eman Elelaby, who earned a FIPRESCI Prize for her work on FEATHERS; costume designer Nayera Eldahshoury; sound engineer Mostafa Shaban; and editor Mohamed Mamdouh.
The film is co-produced by Sawsan Youssef of Bonanza Films, alongside Dora Bouchoucha and Lina Shaban of Tunisia’s Nomadis Images, Amjad Abu Alala, Faisal Baltayour from Cinewaves, Ahmed Amer of A.A. Films, May Odeh and Zorana Musikic of Mayana Films, Laura Nikolov of Co-Origins, Sherif Fathy of Shift Studios, as well as Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab of MAD Solutions — the subsidiary of which, MAD World, is handling the film’s world sales.
AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY boasts a stellar cast, with Buliana Simon taking on the lead role of Aisha alongside Egyptian rapper Ziad Zaza — in his first feature-length appearance — Emad Ghoniem, and Mamdouh Saleh.
Morad Mostafa is an Egyptian film director born in Cairo in 1988 who worked as an assistant director in the film industry for over ten years. He’s also a graduate of Berlinale Talents, Durban Talents, Locarno Academy, and Cinéfondation Cannes, and has been named one of the Arab Stars of Tomorrow by Screen International Magazine in 2023. Last year, he was chosen as one of the top 100 influential cinema personalities in the Middle East in an annual list published by the Arab Cinema Center.
Mostafa has also participated in several international jury panels, the most recent of which was at the Cairo International Film Festival.
He is most known for writing and directing WARD’S HENNA PARTY, WHAT WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT MARIAM, KHADIGA, and I PROMISE YOU PARADISE, all of which were selected for the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival — the most important short film festival in the world. These films have been screened at over 400 festivals worldwide and have won around 150 local and international awards.
His latest short film, I PROMISE YOU PARADISE, was selected for the 77th Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week, where it won the Rail d’Or. It also participated in the Locarno International Film Festival and made it to the shortlist of the César Awards.
His first feature film, AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY, won the Final Cut Award at the 81st Venice International Film Festival and will have its world premiere at the 78th Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard.
