Short Films

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Young Masters

AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY

• Director: Morad Mostafa
• EGYPT, TUNISIA, QATAR, FRANCE, SAUDI ARABIA, SUDAN, GERMANY / 2025 / DCP / Colour / 123' / Arabic, French; Turkish, English s.t.

• Screenplay: Morad Mostafa, Sawsan Yusuf, Mohamed Abdelqader
• Director of Photography: Mostafa El Kashef
• Editing: Mohamed Mamdouh
• Music: Amine Bouhafa
• Cast: Buliana Simon, Ziad Zaza, Emad Ghoniem, Mamdouh Saleh, Maya Mohamed, Mohamed Abd Elhady
• Producer: Sawsan Yusuf
• Co-Producer: May Odeh, Zorana Musikić, Dora Bouchoucha
• Production Co.: Bonanza Films, Nomadis Images, Mayana Films, Coorigines Production, Shift Studios, A.A Films, Cinewaves, MAD Solutions, Arabia Pictures
• World Sales: Mad World

2025 Valencia Grand Jury Award
2025 Namur Special Jury Award

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. Egyptian filmmaker Morad Mostafa’s debut feature Aisha Can’t Fly Away premiered at Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section. ‘It's easy to grow desensitized to the pain of others around the world,’ says Mostafa, ‘But by putting that pain front and centre for the whole world to see, we can give those living these stories hope that they have not been forgotten.’

This film was a Meetings on the Bridge participant.