The Prospects of Arab Cinema (PAC) has been launched as a parallel programme to the 36th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) and is accepting submissions until 9 September 2014.
The programme is organised by the Egyptian Filmmakers’ Syndicate to run parallel to the main festival. PAC will be held under the supervision of screenwriter Sayed Fouad and film critic Sherif Awad.
PAC is looking for films with have the following criteria: the film has to have been produced in 2013 or 2014 and has to have a running time of more than 60 minutes, as well as not having been screened in Egypt or broadcast before in any medium.
PAC was launched following an agreement between CIFF’s president, film critic Samir Farid, and Moussad Fouda, president of the filmmakers’ syndicate. The festival is now in the process of choosing jury members and three filmmakers from around the Arab world to be honoured, a book on Arab cinema written in 2013 or 2014 and organising a round table on problems of film financing and distribution in the Arab world.