Cairo Industry Days Adds Mentorship and Book-to-Screen Programs

Cairo Industry Days has announced new year-round support programs, including a mentorship initiative through Cairo Film Connection and a new From Book to Screen track, for its eighth edition running Nov. 14 to 19 during the Cairo International Film Festival's 47th edition, according to Variety.

Cairo Film Connection is holding its 12th iteration with 17 projects selected from 12 countries, and it is presenting 43 individual awards this year. The mentorship program pairs the projects with five international experts covering development, pitching, budgeting, financing, festival strategy, broadcasting and legal matters. Online mentoring sessions have already begun and will continue during the festival.

Cairo Industry Days also partnered with the Sundance Documentary Fund for an online session aimed at projects from last year's Cairo Film Connection that are still seeking support.

From Book to Screen and the market floor

The new From Book to Screen program selected 10 books from 10 Egyptian publishing houses, with authors and publishers trained to pitch to producers. Mohamed Sayed Abdel-Rehim, head of Cairo Industry Days, said the plan is to introduce a formal selection committee for the program next year and to open it to writers from across the Arab world by 2028.

The Cairo Film Market features 23 booths this year, and Cairo Industry Days is expected to sign a cooperation agreement with SICA Abidjan, the audiovisual forum in Côte d'Ivoire, during this year's edition.

The Cairo Film Market was launched in 2024 with eight companies. Projects from this year's broader festival circuit include Sara Ishaq's The Station, which screened at Cannes Critics' Week, Rania Rafei's The Day of Wrath: Tales from Tripoli, which screened at the Berlinale Forum, and Mohanad Yaqubi's Revolutionaries Never Die, which won the Special Jury Prize at Locarno.