Portal:African cinema/Selected article/1

The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) (Arabic: مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. CIFF is one of only 15 Festivals accorded as a category "A" status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations FIAPF. It is the oldest and only internationally accredited cultural feature film festival in the Arab World, Africa and the Middle East.

CIFF was launched in 1976 by the writer-critic Kamal el-Mallakh to enhance the role of Egypt in the world of filmmaking and cinema and to serve as a bridge between the cultures of the world.

Egypt has enjoyed a strong cinematic tradition since the art of filmmaking was first developed, in 1896. Egypt is famously called Hollywood of the East among the Arab World for its long reputable filmmaking history of more than 120 years, wide-reach to more than 400 million Arab speakers and inhabitants in the Middle East, and strong influence on all the Arab Nation by its Art production of thousands of Film Pictures, Series, Theatre Plays and Music. It is common and very well known since the rising of the filmmaking industry in early 1920s in Egypt that any aspiring Arab artist of any related art field has to fly to Cairo to be able to reach and make it to the whole Arab World.