aisha can’t fly away wins best film at colombia’s 11th festival villa del cine

Following a recent screening in Brazil, AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY by Morad Mostafa made an impression at yet another Latin American film Festival, the 11th Villa del Cine in Colombia, where it featured as part of the International Debut Film Program and won Best Film.

In the event organizers’ words, the Festival Villa del Cine is a four-day experience where the streets and theaters of Villa de Leyva, Colombia, become a stage dedicated to celebrating, encouraging, and rewarding the art of film.

The film — which notably premiered at the 78th Cannes Film Festival — follows a 26-year-old Sudanese caregiver living in a neighborhood in the heart of Cairo, where she witnesses the tension between her fellow African migrants and other groups. Unwittingly, she becomes involved with an Egyptian gang that blackmails her into stealing her patients’ keys so that they can rob them.

Aside from this recent string of Latin screenings, so far, AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY has also made its way to the Durban and Golden Apricot Yerevan film festivals, the latter of which it went home from with a FIPRESCI Award.

Produced through Yusuf’s Bonanza Films, the film is a co-production involving Dora Bouchoucha and Lina Chaaban of Tunisia’s Nomadis Images, Sherif Fathy of Shift Studios, Ahmed Amer of A.A. Films, Faisal Baltayour from Cinewaves, Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab of MAD Solutions — the subsidiary of which, MAD World, is handling the film’s world sales — May Odeh and Zorana Musikic of Mayana Films, Laura Nikolov of Coorigins, Abellelah Al Ahmary of Arabia Pictures, as well as executive producer Amjad Abu Alala.

AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY boasts a stellar cast, with Buliana Simon as the eponymous lead Aisha, and Egyptian rapper Ziad Zaza in his feature-film debut, alongside stellar supporting actors Emad Ghoniem and Mamdouh Saleh.

The crew behind AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY includes renowned Egyptian cinematographer Mostafa El Kashef, who also worked on Cannes entry THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE; art director Eman Elelaby, who earned a FIPRESCI Prize for her work on FEATHERS; costume designer Nayera Eldahshoury; and editor Mohamed Mamdouh.

In its development phase, the film received funding and support from the Red Sea Lodge, Doha Film Institute, AFAC Film Fund, Cultural Resource (Mawred), Cinéfondation, La Fabrique Cinema of Cannes, Cinemed Montpellier, Locarno Academy, and El Gouna Film Festival.

Morad Mostafa has an impressive repertoire of experience under his belt, working on several independent films, including Aytin Amin’s SOUAD — serving as a first assistant director — which was an official selection of both the Cannes and Berlin international film festivals.

An alumnus of Berlinale Talents, Durban Talents, and Locarno Academy, Mostafa wrote and directed three short films, all of which were selected in Clermont-Ferrand over three consecutive years and were screened in more than 300 festivals worldwide, winning several awards. His latest short film, I PROMISE YOU PARADISE, was selected for the 2023 edition of Cannes’ Critics Week and the César Awards.