FIPRESCI Celebrates Its Centennial at the Cairo International Film Festival

The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) continues its centennial celebration program, this time at the Cairo International Film Festival, the only festival in the Middle East classified as Category A by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).

During the 46th edition of the festival (November 12-21), FIPRESCI will present the FIPRESCI 100 Lifetime Achievement Award to Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi. The award ceremony will take place on the evening of November 20 before the screening of her latest film, Silent Friend, at the Cairo Opera House’s Grand Theatre. The film won the FIPRESCI Prize at the recent Venice Film Festival, marking the second time Enyedi has received the award from the federation, the first was at the 2018 Berlin Festival for her film On Body and Soul.

The FIPRESCI 100 is a special award given by the International Federation of Film Critics to mark its centenary. It has been awarded three times this year: at Cannes to Hungarian director István Szabó, at Venice to Malaysian director Tsai Ming-liang, and at Gdynia to Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski. The Cairo award will be the final award in this celebratory year.

The festival will also publish a critical book featuring the results of the poll for “The Best 25 Egyptian Films of the First Quarter of the 21st Century.” This poll was a collaboration between the Cairo Festival, FIPRESCI, and the Egyptian Film Critics Association (EFCA), with participation from over 60 critics selecting the best Egyptian films produced in this century.

The book, to be published during the festival, will include reviews of the chosen films alongside critical essays and analytical readings that attempt to present and interpret the most significant waves in the contemporary Egyptian cinema.

The centennial program in Cairo will be rounded out by the participation of Egyptian critic Ahmed Shawky, president of FIPRESCI, on the federation’s jury for the 46th edition, alongside French critic Laura Pertuy and Dutch critic Thierry Verhoeven.

©FIPRESCI 2025