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Morad Mostafa

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Morad Mostafa (born December 1, 1988) is an Egyptian film director and screenwriter known for his exploration of contemporary Egyptian social issues, often centering his work on the struggles of women and refugees. His first four short films—Henet Ward (2020), What We Don't Know About Mariam (2021), Khadiga (2022), and I Promise You Paradise (2023)—each received critical acclaim and won numerous awards.[1][2] [3] I Promise You Paradise won the Rail d'Or at the 2023 edition of the Cannes Film Festival’s Critics Week and was nominated for the French César Awards.[4] His first feature film, Aisha Can't Fly Away, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.[5][6]

Early Life

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Morad Mostafa, an only child, was born on December 1, 1988 in Ain Shams, a neighborhood in northeast Cairo that features prominently in a number of his films.[7]

Interested in filmmaking as a young teenager, he made his first film with a home-video camera when he was 15. He participated in workshops at Cairo’s Cinema Culture Palace [8] and in 2009 had his first on set job working on the series Aghla Min Hayati (2010) written and starring Mohamed Fouad.[9]

Career

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Following his first on location job in the series Aghla Min Hayati in 2009 Mostafa worked on several other productions before landing the role of assistant director to a series of Egyptian directors that included Hala Khalil, Sherif El-Bendary, Mohamed Diab and Ayten Amin on her 2020 film Souad (2020), Egypt's entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.

Mostafa made his directorial debut with Henet Ward in 2020. A short drama tackling the issues of racism and discrimination, the story follows Halima, an Egypt-based Sudanese henna painter, and her young daughter Ward, as they head to a Henna party in Giza. The film screened at over 120 international film festivals and won over a dozen awards.[10][3]

Mostafa's sophomore short film, What We Don't Know About Mariam, followed in 2021. According to the director's notes, the story, which unfolds between a husband and wife at a hospital, reflects strained marital relationships in Egyptian society and how they often reveal themselves in public venues. Another festival favorite that screened at dozens of festivals, the film won multiple awards, including Best Director at the Casablanca Arab Film Festival and Prix de la Critique at the Les Nuits MED Short Film Festival (France).[2]

Mostafa's third short, Khadiga (2022) follows a young mother who starts a seemingly ordinary day navigating the streets of Cairo until the shockingly unexpected happens. The film premiered at El Gouna Film Festival in 2021, went on to screen at over 80 festivals and won awards that included Best Short Fictiion Film Award at the Keff Short Film Festival (Tunisia) and Best Short at the Festival Internacional de Cine de Quito 2022 (Ecuador).[1]

Mostafa's 2023 short film, I Promise You Paradise, centers on Eissa, a 17-year-old African migrant in Cairo, racing against the clock to save his loved ones. It won the Critics Week's Rail d'Or Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, a first for an Egyptian film. [11]

The director set another precedent with his feature film debut, Aisha Can't Fly Away, which became the first Egyptian film ever to win the Jury Prize for Best Film in Post-Production at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in 2024.[12] Once again, spotlighting African refugees in Egypt, the story revolves around Aisha, a 26-year-old immigrant caregiver residing in Ain-shams, a Cairo neighborhood with a large African community.[13]

Aisha Can't Fly Away is slated to premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.[5] It's the first time an Egyptian film has competed in Un Certain Regard since Mohamed Diab's 2016's Clash.

Filmography

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  • Manikin - 2012, short film
  • Minus Five - 2015, short film
  • Ward's Henna Party - 2020, short film
  • What We Don't Know About Maryam - 2021, short film
  • Khadiga - 2021, short film
  • I Promise You Paradise - 2023, short film
  • Aisha Can't Fly Away - 2025

Awards

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Award Year Category Work Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 2023 Nikon Discovery Award I Promise You Paradise Won [14]
Rail d'or Won [15]
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival 2023 Outstanding Short Film Won [16]
Malmö Arab Film Festival 2024 Short Film Competition Honored [17]
Whistler Film Festival 2023 International ShortWork Won [18]

References

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  1. ^ a b "KHADIGA". LIGHTS ON (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  2. ^ a b "What We Don't Know About Mariam". LIGHTS ON (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  3. ^ a b "Egyptian director Morad Mostafa's second short film wins at Spain's Mecal festival - Screens - Arts & Culture". Ahram Online. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  4. ^ Eslam Omar, "Winning Rail d'Or Award at Cannes is 'door opening opportunity': Egyptian director Morad Mostafa". Al-Ahram, 26 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b Eric Lavallée, "2025 Cannes: Diego Céspedes, Morad Mostafa, Harry Lighton, Harris Dickinson & Scarlett Johansson in the Un Certain Regard". Ioncinema, 10 April 2025.
  6. ^ "Egyptian Cinema Soars Again: Aisha Can't Fly Away Stuns at Cannes". EgyptToday. 2025-05-21. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
  7. ^ "Interview with Morad Mostafa, director of Khadiga - myDylarama". www.mydylarama.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
  8. ^ Sheded2023-12-01T10:24:00+00:00, Mona. "Arab Stars of Tomorrow 2023: Morad Mostafa, writer-director (Egypt)". Screen. Retrieved 2025-04-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ TarekTalks (2023-05-17). TarekTalks| مراد مصطفى: عن صناعة الأفلام القصيرة وكتابة شخصيات مختلفة |Morad Mostafa: Make it Short!. Retrieved 2025-04-28 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ "Road to success: Egyptian director Morad Mostafa speaks about his debut film Henet Ward - Screens - Arts & Culture". Ahram Online. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  11. ^ Attia, Rana (2023-05-28). "Morad Mostafa Wins Rail d'Or Award At The Cannes Film Festival". Scoop Empire. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  12. ^ Solutions, M. A. D. "Morad Mostafa's AISHA CAN'T FLY AWAY snags five awards; becomes first Egyptian film to win Jury Prize for Best Film in Post-Production at Final Cut". MAD Solutions Official website - Cairo - Abu Dhabi - Lisbon - New York City. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
  13. ^ "Egypt returns to Cannes' Un Certain Regard after 9 years with Aisha Can't Fly Away". EgyptToday. 2025-04-13. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  14. ^ John Hopewell, "France’s Wrong Films, Behind Sundance Jury Prize Winner ‘Animalia,’ Preps Beirut-Set Thriller ‘Thaoura’". Variety, 24 July 2024.
  15. ^ Angy Essam, "Egypt’s I PROMISE YOU PARADISE receives the Rail d’Or for Best Short Film at Cannes Film Festival". Egypt Today, 25 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Cinéfest reveals 2023 award winners". Sudbury.com, 28 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Audience Award, Special Mention goes to Egyptian films at Malmö Festival". Al-Ahram, 28 April 2024.
  18. ^ Taimur Sikander Mirza, "Atikamekw Suns wins best Canadian feature at WFF". Playback, 5 December 2023.
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