Overview
The Algiers International Film Festival (AIFF), formerly known as FICA (Festival International du Cinema Engage), is Algeria's state-organized international film festival. Founded in 2002, the festival operates under the Ministry of Culture and Arts. The 12th edition runs December 4 to 10, 2025, in Algiers. The festival presents fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental cinema from Algeria, the Maghreb, Africa, the Arab world, and the Global South, with a programming focus on engaged filmmaking that addresses struggles, identities, and narratives from the Global South.
The 2025 edition received over 3,300 film submissions from 117 countries. Cuba is the guest country of honor. The festival's programming includes a Focus Palestine section, a selection of Cuban films, and a science and knowledge film section alongside the regular competition categories. The festival commissioner is Mehdi Benassa.
For Algerian and Francophone African filmmakers, AIFF is the most important domestic exhibition platform. Submissions are free through FilmFreeway and the official festival website. The festival accepts both shorts (under 40 minutes) and features (over 40 minutes) in fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental categories. Films must have been produced after January 1, 2023, and must be in Arabic, French, or English, or subtitled in French or English.
Submission Details
12th Edition Key Dates:
- Submission deadline: September 10, 2025 (23:59 Algiers time)
- Selection notification: October 10, 2025
- Final film delivery deadline: November 10, 2025
- Festival dates: December 4 to 10, 2025
Entry Fees:
- Submissions are free
- Submissions via FilmFreeway and the official website
Eligibility:
- Films produced after January 1, 2023
- Shorts: under 40 minutes
- Features: over 40 minutes
- Accepted formats: fiction, documentary, animation, experimental
- Accepted languages: Arabic, French, English (other languages must be subtitled in French or English)
- No withdrawal accepted once a film is selected
Required Materials:
- Trilingual synopsis
- Technical sheet (fiche technique)
- Film trailer
- Visual materials (stills, poster)
- Director biography
Selection:
- Films are evaluated by a committee of cinema and culture professionals
- Decisions are final and announced by October 10, 2025
- Selected films must be delivered in final version before November 10, 2025
Key Sections
- Official Competition - feature and short fiction films and documentaries in competition for the Grand Prix and other awards
- Panorama International - non-competitive international selections, including films on science and knowledge
- Focus Algeria/Africa - films by African filmmakers and works connected to the Algerian context
- Focus Palestine - dedicated selection of Palestinian films
- Guest Country of Honor: Cuba - selection of Cuban films (2025 edition)
- Science and Knowledge Films - documentary section on scientific topics
- Cinema Lab - workshops, master classes, and residencies for filmmakers
Major Awards
The festival presents awards across feature film, short film, and documentary categories:
- Grand Prix - top award for best feature film
- Prix du Jury - Jury Prize
- Prix du Public - Audience Award
- Prix de la Meilleure Realisation - Best Director
- Prix du Meilleur Scenario - Best Screenplay
- Prix de la Meilleure Interpretation Feminine - Best Actress
- Prix de la Meilleure Interpretation Masculine - Best Actor
- Prix du Meilleur Montage - Best Editing
- Prix de la Meilleure Photographie - Best Cinematography
- Prix de la Meilleure Bande Originale - Best Original Score
- Mention Speciale du Jury - Special Jury Mention (short fiction and documentary categories)
What Filmmakers Should Know
Free Submissions
AIFF is one of the few international film festivals that charges no entry fee. Submissions are entirely free through FilmFreeway and the official website. This makes the festival accessible to filmmakers who cannot afford the submission fees charged by most European and North American festivals (typically US$20 to US$100 per submission). For low-budget African and Global South filmmakers, this is a significant advantage.
Engaged Cinema Focus
The festival was founded as the "Journees du film engage" (Days of Engaged Cinema) and retained the name FICA (Festival International du Cinema Engage) for its first 11 editions. The programming focus on engaged cinema means the selection committee favors films that address social, political, and economic struggles. Films that are purely formalist or apolitical may be less competitive than work with explicit social or political engagement. The 2025 theme, "struggles, identities, and narratives of the Global South," reinforces this orientation.
Scale and Reach
The 12th edition received over 3,300 submissions from 117 countries. This is a large submission pool, comparable to major European festivals. The festival's free submission policy contributes to this volume. Filmmakers should understand that the selection rate is low given the volume of submissions, but the free entry means there is no financial risk in submitting.
No Film Market
AIFF does not have an official film market or co-production forum. The Cinema Lab section offers workshops, master classes, and residencies, but these are educational rather than market-oriented. Filmmakers seeking distribution deals or co-production financing in North Africa should look to the Cairo International Film Festival's industry program or the Carthage Film Festival's co-production market instead.
Algeria's Cinema Tradition
Algeria has one of the most significant cinema histories in Africa and the Arab world. The Battle of Algiers (1966), directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, is one of the most studied political films in cinema history and was produced by Algerian state cinema. The country's dual cultural inheritance, French language and culture alongside Arab and Amazigh (Berber) traditions, gives its cinema a distinctive character. AIFF reflects this multilayered identity in its programming, which spans Francophone, Arab, and Amazigh cinema.
Festival History
The Algiers International Film Festival was founded in 2002 under the name "Journees du film engage" (Days of Engaged Cinema), later formalized as FICA (Festival International du Cinema Engage). The festival was established under the Ministry of Culture and Arts to provide a platform for engaged filmmaking from Algeria, Africa, and the Global South.
For its first 11 editions, the festival operated under the FICA name, building a reputation for programming politically engaged cinema from across the developing world. The 11th edition, held in December 2022, screened 60 films including 25 in official competition across features, shorts, and documentaries. That edition included three master classes on "Documentary and Fiction: Uncertain Borders," "Cinema and Environment," and "The Actor's Craft," plus a tribute to the Palestinian Shashat Women's Cinema Foundation.
The festival was renamed AIFF (Algiers International Film Festival) for its 12th edition in 2025, retaining its focus on engaged cinema while broadening its scope. The 12th edition received 3,300 submissions from 117 countries, reflecting the festival's global reach despite its regional focus. The 2025 edition's guest country of honor is Cuba, with dedicated programming of Cuban films alongside the regular competition.
The festival operates under the authority of the Ministry of Culture and Arts. The commissioner for the 12th edition is Mehdi Benassa. The festival's primary venue is the Cinephile d'Alger, with additional screening venues across the capital.
Past Winners
The Grand Prix is the festival's top award. At the 11th edition (2022), the Grand Prix went to Limbo (dir. Ben Sharrock, UK), a film about a Syrian refugee on a remote Scottish island that was BAFTA-nominated and distributed by Focus Features. At the 12th edition (2025), the Grand Prix for fiction was awarded to Roqia (dir. Yanis Koussim, Algeria), a horror film set during the Black Decade that premiered at Venice Critics' Week. The Jury Prize was shared ex-aequo by The Village Next to Paradise (dir. Mo Harawe, Somalia) and Passing Dreams (dir. Rashid Masharawi, Palestine). The Documentary Grand Prix went to Annab (dir. Abdallah Kada, Algeria). The 12th edition received 3,300 submissions from 117 countries.
Notable Alumni
The Algiers festival has programmed films that went on to international recognition. Limbo (2022 Grand Prix winner, dir. Ben Sharrock) was nominated for a BAFTA and received US distribution through Focus Features after its Algiers success. Roqia (2025 Grand Prix winner, dir. Yanis Koussim) premiered at Venice Critics' Week before winning at Algiers, marking a significant moment for Algerian horror cinema. The festival's engagement with Algeria's cinema history is reflected in its connection to The Battle of Algiers (1966, dir. Gillo Pontecorvo), one of the most studied political films in cinema history, which was produced by Algerian state cinema. The festival continues to program films from the Global South that address political and social struggles, maintaining the engaged cinema tradition of its founding mission.
Submission Tips
AIFF is one of the few international festivals with entirely free submissions. Filmmakers can submit through FilmFreeway or the official festival website at no cost. The 12th edition received over 3,300 submissions from 117 countries, so the selection rate is low despite the free entry. Films must have been produced after January 1, 2023, and can be shorts (under 40 minutes) or features (over 40 minutes) in fiction, documentary, animation, or experimental categories. Accepted languages are Arabic, French, and English, with other languages requiring French or English subtitles. Required materials include a trilingual synopsis, technical sheet, film trailer, visual materials, and director biography. The selection committee favors engaged cinema that addresses social, political, and economic struggles.
Industry Reputation
AIFF operates under Algeria's Ministry of Culture and Arts, giving it state-level institutional backing. The festival's focus on engaged cinema from the Global South gives it a distinctive identity among African and Arab festivals. However, AIFF does not host a film market or co-production forum, which limits its industry function compared to the Cairo International Film Festival's industry program or the Carthage Film Festival's co-production market. The Cinema Lab section offers workshops, master classes, and residencies, but these are educational rather than market-oriented. The festival's free submission policy and global reach (3,300 submissions from 117 countries) demonstrate its accessibility, but filmmakers seeking distribution deals or co-production financing in North Africa should supplement their AIFF participation with other regional industry events.
Watch
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Official UK trailer for Limbo (2022), directed by Ben Sharrock. The film won the Grand Prix at the 11th Algiers International Film Festival and was later BAFTA-nominated and distributed by Focus Features.
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Director interview with Yannis Koussim, whose Algerian horror film Roqia won the Grand Prix for fiction at the 12th Algiers International Film Festival. The film premiered at Venice Critics' Week before its Algiers success.
See Also
For North African cinema context, see International Film Markets. For the Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia, see Carthage Film Festival. For festival strategy guidance, see Film Festival Strategy. To evaluate the financial return of festival submissions, use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator. To estimate your probability of acceptance based on festival tier and film characteristics, use the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator. For the official festival website, visit AIFF / ficinema.dz.
