The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) announced that it has received accreditation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which qualifies its films to compete for the Academy Awards beginning in November 2020. Cairo’s festival is now one of a number of international festivals that qualify to compete in the Oscars, including the Berlin, Cannes and Venice film festivals , with the best film in the “Cinema al-Ghad” (Cinema of Tomorrow) competition eligible to compete in the category for best short film (feature or animated) during next year’s Academy Awards. Commercial release is not necessary for a film to compete in the Academy Awards, provided that it complies with the rules of the Academy. At the opening of the second edition of Cairo Film Days on Friday morning, producer Mohamed Hefzy commented: “We are very proud to join the list of Oscar-eligible festivals, and we thank the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for supporting the festival.” The decision repr…
