An Egyptian filmmaker, Morad Mostafa started off as an assistant director in the film industry, excelling in the field for over ten years and becoming an alumnus of Berlinale Talents, Durban Talents, Locarno Academy, and Cannes Cinéfondation. In 2023, he was named by Screen Daily as one of its Arab Stars of Tomorrow — an initiative honoring the most prominent emerging Arab talents. The previous year, he was included in the Arab Cinema Center’s list of 100 Most Significant Cinematic Figures in the Middle East. He also has participated in numerous international juries, most recently at the Cairo International Film Festival. Morad has written and directed four acclaimed short films (HENET WARD, WHAT WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT MARIAM, KHADIGA, and I PROMISE YOU PARADISE) all of which have been selected for the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and have screened at over 500 festivals worldwide, winning around 200 local and international awards. His last short film, I PROMISE YOU PARADISE, was selected for the 76th Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week, where it won the Rail d’Or. It also screened at the 76th Locarno International Film Festival, BFI London, among many other international festivals, and officially made it to the shortlist for the César Awards. His first feature film, AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY, won the Final Cut Award at the 81st Venice International Film Festival and will have its world premiere at the 78th Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard, becoming the first Egyptian film to do so in almost a decade.
