The Cairo International Film Festival has cancelled its upcoming 45th edition due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The festival organisers announced the decision Wednesday on Instagram with the following statement: “Minister of Culture Dr. Neven El-Kelany has decided to postpone the 45th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival, which was scheduled to take place from Nov. 15 to 24. The new date for the festival will be determined later.”
However, the Cairo Fest’s press office subsequently specified that the postponement actually amounts to a de-facto cancellation, according to Variety.
Last week, Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival was also rescheduled. The El Gouna Fest said in a statement that it will now take place from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, instead of its previous dates of Oct. 13 to 20.
Palestinian Chilean singer Elyanna, who was set to perform at the festival, also stated her desire to not perform “right now” before the festival was postponed. “It was an honour to be invited … however, I will not be participating right now,” she wrote on Instagram.
