CFD 26| Aisha Can’t Fly Away

Glocal Images

International Competition Section

Aisha Can’t Fly Away

LEM 23/04 > 22:00
NIC 22/04 > 18:00

120’, 2025
Egypt, France, Germany, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Sudan

Directed by
Morad Mostafa

Screenplay
Morad Mostafa
Sawsan Youssef
Mohamed Abdelader

Cinematography
Mostafa El Kashef

Editing
Mohamed Mamdouh

Production Design
Eman Elelaby

Costume Design
Nayera Eldahshoury

Sound Design
Mostafa Shaban

Cast
Buliana Simon
Ziad Zaza
Emad Ghoniem
Mamdouh Saleh

Producer
Sawsan Yusuf

Production Company
Bonanza Films

Co-producers
Sawsan Youssef
Dora Bouchoucha
Lina Chaaban
Sherif Fathy
Ahmed Amer
Faisal Baltayour
Alaa Karkouti
Maher Diab
May Odeh
Zorana Musikic
Laura Nikolov
Abellelah Al Ahmary

Co-production Companies
Nomadis Images
Shift Studios
A. A. Films
Cinewaves
MAD Solutions
Mayana Films
Coorigins
Arabia Pictures

Synopsis
Aisha is a 26-year-old Sudanese caregiver living in a neighbourhood in the heart of Cairo where she witnesses the tension between her fellow African migrants and local gangs.
Stuck between an undefined relationship with a young Egyptian cook, a gangster who blackmails her into an unethical deal in exchange for safety, and a new house she’s assigned to work in, Aisha struggles to cope with her fears and lost battles, causing her dreams to cross with reality and leading her to an impasse.

Biography
Morad Mostafa is an Egyptian filmmaker born in Cairo in 1988. He has worked on several independent films and collaborated as Executive Director on Souad, an official selection of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival and the 2020 Berlinale. An alumnus of Berlinale Talents, Durban Talents, and the Locarno Academy, Mostafa has written and directed three short films, all of which were selected at Clermont-Ferrand over three consecutive years and screened in more than 300 festivals worldwide, winning several awards. His latest short film, I Promise You Paradise, was selected for the 2023 edition of Cannes’ Critics Week and the César Awards.

Filmography
2025 Aisha Can’t Fly Away
2023 I Promise You Paradise (s.f.)

Awards
FIPRESCI Award, Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival, Armenia, 2025.
Best Film Award, Festival Villa del Cine, Colombia, 2025.
Golden Palm Grand Jury Award, Mostra de València, Spain, 2025.
Special Jury Award, Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur, Belgium, 2025.