Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts

Overview

The Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts is Egypt's only film festival dedicated exclusively to documentary and short form cinema. The 26th edition ran February 5 to 11, 2025, in Ismailia, a city on the Suez Canal approximately 120 km northeast of Cairo. The festival screened 51 films from 34 countries across its competitive and non-competitive sections, under the patronage of Egypt's Ministry of Culture and headed by director Hala Galal.

The festival occupies a specific niche in the Arab and African film calendar: it is the only competitive platform in the region that focuses on documentary and short films rather than narrative features. The Cairo International Film Festival, held separately in November, handles narrative features. Ismailia serves the nonfiction and short film community, providing Arab and African documentary filmmakers with a regional competitive platform that international festivals focused on narrative cinema do not offer.

The 26th edition included a FIPRESCI jury, an industry marketplace (the Ismailia Cinema Forum), and workshops including the City Memory workshop, which offered awards for completed films and written projects. The festival was dedicated to the memory of the late director Ali El-Ghazouli.

Submission Details

Submissions are accepted through the official festival website. Key details from recent editions:

There is no submission fee. Films must be submitted with a completed application form, synopsis, director's biography, and production credits. The festival accepts documentary films (short and long form), short fiction films (maximum 60 minutes), and animation films. Films must be in good technical condition. The festival reserves the right to use up to 10% of the film's total length (not exceeding 2 minutes, or 1 minute for animation) for promotional purposes on television.

Competition Sections

The 26th edition (2025) organised films into the following competitive categories:

• Feature Documentary Competition - 10 long-form documentaries (60+ minutes), including "Fedayee" by Kamal Aljafari (Palestine) and "The Night Still Smells of Gunpowder" by Inadelso Cossa (Mozambique)
• Short Films and Animation Competition - 24 films including short fiction, short documentary, and animation
• New Stars Competition - 17 Egyptian films showcasing emerging Egyptian talent
• Non-Competitive Sections - tributes, special screenings, and out-of-competition selections
• Ismailia Cinema Forum - project development marketplace with awards for works in progress

Awards and Prizes

The 26th edition (2025) awarded prizes across four competitive categories, judged by two international juries of three members each (including one Egyptian member per jury).

Short Fiction Films

• Best Short Fiction Film - "Ghost" (dir. Mohamed Salah)
• Special Jury Prize - "Independence Day" (dir. Costanza Maglov)
• Special Mention - "The Second Child" (dir. Lou Renshuao)

Animation Films

• Best Animation Film - "Where Jasmine Always Blooms" (dir. Hussein Bastouni)
• Special Jury Prize - "Divine Touch" (dir. Melodie Polisier and Bogdan Samatan)

Short Documentary Films

• Best Short Documentary - "Scattered Beirut" (dir. Farah Nabulsi)
• Special Jury Prize - "Rose" (dir. Annika Meyer)
• Special Mention - "Leaving Through the Cuckoo's Nest" (dir. Nikola Ilic)

Long Documentary Films

• Best Long Documentary - "Contact Line" (dir. Sylvie Paley)
• Special Jury Prize - "Bruna Park" (dir. Felix Hergert and Dominik Testloff)

FIPRESCI Award

• FIPRESCI Prize - "And There Was Evening, and There Was Morning, the First Day" (dir. Youhanna Nagy, Egypt, 120 min)

Ismailia Cinema Forum Awards

The industry marketplace awarded project development prizes valued at up to 50,000 EGP each:

• Nazla Company Award (50,000 EGP) - "The Cave Story" (dir. Nahed Nasr)
• Sard Company Award (50,000 EGP, script consultation by Mariam Naam) - "The Cave Story" (dir. Nahed Nasr)
• Plateau 84 Editing Award - "Girls of the Green Island" (dir. Rogina Tarek) and "A House Somewhere" (dir. Rania Zaher)
• Sard Writing Consultation Award - "The Last Days of Spring" (dir. Mohamed Rabie Hassan) and "Haji" (dir. Khaled Fares)
• Film Clinic Award - "Four Love Stories" (dir. Majed Ata)
• AA Company Award - "Kafr El-Dawwar" (dir. Mahmoud Ibrahim)

Festival History

The Ismailia International Film Festival was founded in 1992 under the auspices of Egypt's Ministry of Culture. It has operated continuously for 26 editions, making it one of the longest-running film festivals in Egypt and the Arab world. The festival is held in Ismailia rather than Cairo, giving it a distinctive identity outside the Egyptian capital's film industry infrastructure. Ismailia's location on the Suez Canal, between Cairo and the Sinai Peninsula, places the festival at a geographic crossroads between North Africa and the Middle East.

The festival has been headed by several prominent Egyptian film figures. The 26th edition was presided over by director Hala Galal and dedicated to the memory of the late director Ali El-Ghazouli. Past editions have honoured international filmmakers including Ross Kaufman, who received a career tribute at the 2025 edition.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Arab and African documentary filmmakers, Ismailia is the most targeted regional competitive platform available. Egyptian, North African, and broader Arab documentary work all find natural homes in the programming. The festival's focus on documentary and short films means it attracts critics, programmers, and industry professionals specifically interested in nonfiction and short form cinema, rather than the generalist audience that narrative feature festivals draw.

The Ismailia Cinema Forum is the festival's industry component and offers project development awards with real cash value (up to 50,000 EGP per project) and in-kind services including editing and script consultation. If you are an Arab or African filmmaker with a documentary project in development, the Forum is a direct path to regional financing and mentorship.

There is no submission fee, which makes Ismailia accessible to filmmakers working with limited resources. However, the submission process requires direct communication with the festival through its official website rather than through FilmFreeway or other standard platforms. Films must have English subtitles and be delivered in DCP or other accepted formats. The eligibility window requires films to have been completed after October 31 of the year prior to the festival edition.

See Also

Calculate your total festival submission costs and projected return using the Festival ROI Calculator. Estimate your acceptance probability with the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator. For festival circuit strategy and planning, see Film Festival Strategy. For documentary filmmaking resources, see Documentary Filmmaking Guide. For understanding Arab and African film markets, see International Film Markets. Submit through the Ismailia festival official website.