Morad Mostafa

Morad Mostafa, an only child, was born on December 1, 1988 in Ain Shams, a neighborhood in northeast Cairo that features prominently in a number of his films.{{Cite web |title=Interview with Morad Mostafa, director of Khadiga - myDylarama |url=https://www.mydylarama.org.uk/Q-A-with-Morad-Mostafa-director-of-Khadiga.html |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=www.mydylarama.org.uk}}

Interested in filmmaking as a young teenager, he made his first film with a home-video camera when he was 15. He participated in workshops at Cairo’s Cinema Culture Palace {{Cite web |last=Sheded2023-12-01T10:24:00+00:00 |first=Mona |title=Arab Stars of Tomorrow 2023: Morad Mostafa, writer-director (Egypt) |url=https://www.screendaily.com/features/arab-stars-of-tomorrow-2023-morad-mostafa-writer-director-egypt/5188382.article |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=Screen |language=en}} and in 2009 had his first on set job working on the series Aghla Min Hayati (2010) written and starring Mohamed Fouad.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lpO0a2eBZ8 |title=TarekTalks{{!}} مراد مصطفى: عن صناعة الأفلام القصيرة وكتابة شخصيات مختلفة {{!}}Morad Mostafa: Make it Short! |date=2023-05-17 |last=TarekTalks |access-date=2025-04-28 |via=YouTube}}

Following his first on location job in the series Aghla Min Hayati in 2009 Mostafa worked on several other productions before landing the role of assistant director to a series of Egyptian directors that included Hala Khalil, Sherif El-Bendary, Mohamed Diab and Ayten Amin on her 2020 film Souad (2020), Egypt's entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.

Mostafa made his directorial debut with Henet Ward in 2020. A short drama tackling the issues of racism and discrimination, the story follows Halima, an Egypt-based Sudanese henna painter, and her young daughter Ward, as they head to a Henna party in Giza. The film screened at over 120 international film festivals and won over a dozen awards.{{Cite web |title=Road to success: Egyptian director Morad Mostafa speaks about his debut film Henet Ward - Screens - Arts & Culture |url=https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/375506.aspx |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=Ahram Online}}

Mostafa's sophomore short film, What We Don't Know About Mariam, followed in 2021. According to the director's notes, the story, which unfolds between a husband and wife at a hospital, reflects strained marital relationships in Egyptian society and how they often reveal themselves in public venues. Another festival favorite that screened at dozens of festivals, the film won multiple awards, including Best Director at the Casablanca Arab Film Festival and Prix de la Critique at the Les Nuits MED Short Film Festival (France).

Mostafa's third short, Khadiga (2022) follows a young mother who starts a seemingly ordinary day navigating the streets of Cairo until the shockingly unexpected happens. The film premiered at El Gouna Film Festival in 2021, went on to screen at over 80 festivals and won awards that included Best Short Fictiion Film Award at the Keff Short Film Festival (Tunisia) and Best Short at the Festival Internacional de Cine de Quito 2022 (Ecuador).

Mostafa's 2023 short film, I Promise You Paradise, centers on Eissa, a 17-year-old African migrant in Cairo, racing against the clock to save his loved ones. It won the Critics Week's Rail d'Or Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, a first for an Egyptian film. {{Cite web |last=Attia |first=Rana |date=2023-05-28 |title=Morad Mostafa Wins Rail d'Or Award At The Cannes Film Festival |url=https://scoopempire.com/morad-mostafa-wins-rail-dor-award-at-the-cannes-film-festival/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=Scoop Empire |language=en-US}}

The director set another precedent with his feature film debut, Aisha Can't Fly Away, which became the first Egyptian film ever to win the Jury Prize for Best Film in Post-Production at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in 2024.{{Cite web |last=Solutions |first=M. A. D. |title=Morad Mostafa’s AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY snags five awards; becomes first Egyptian film to win Jury Prize for Best Film in Post-Production at Final Cut |url=https://mad.film/press/Morad-Mostafa%E2%80%99s-AISHA-CAN%E2%80%99T-FLY-AWAY-snags-five-awards;-becomes-first-Egyptian-film-to-win-Jury-Prize-for-Best-Film-in-Post-Production-at-Final-Cut.php |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=MAD Solutions Official website - Cairo - Abu Dhabi - Lisbon - New York City |language=en}} Once again, spotlighting African refugees in Egypt, the story revolves around Aisha, a 26-year-old immigrant caregiver residing in Ain-shams, a Cairo neighborhood with a large African community.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-13 |title=Egypt returns to Cannes’ Un Certain Regard after 9 years with Aisha Can’t Fly Away |url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/139553/Egypt-returns-to-Cannes%E2%80%99-Un-Certain-Regard-after-9-years |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=EgyptToday}}

Aisha Can't Fly Away is slated to premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.Eric Lavallée, [https://www.ioncinema.com/news/film-festivals/2025-cannes-diego-cespedes-morad-mostafa-harry-lighton-harris-dickinson-scarlett-johansson-in-the-un-certain-regard "2025 Cannes: Diego Céspedes, Morad Mostafa, Harry Lighton, Harris Dickinson & Scarlett Johansson in the Un Certain Regard"]. Ioncinema, 10 April 2025. It's the first time an Egyptian film has competed in Un Certain Regard since Mohamed Diab's 2016's Clash.

• Manikin - 2012, short film
• Minus Five - 2015, short film
• Ward's Henna Party - 2020, short film
• What We Don't Know About Maryam - 2021, short film
• Khadiga - 2021, short film
• I Promise You Paradise - 2023, short film
• Aisha Can't Fly Away - 2025

{{reflist}}

• {{imdb name|5381759}}
• [https://www.sabiff.tv/khadiga.html Khadiga] on Sabiff.tv
• [https://vimeo.com/912072631?turnstile=0.LUsX48B756Jp7wJ2LAryBfIw7ORnWVa6lL71ayz-YmYzvM_5ItuYiSNtmaue5F6cva_jcS6rRIWsT1OWzYZzitb70R9fbIp3JKWafuFpjiq_R8PpapSPq8g4iI9dY7SbCfgpf78kqLNQO0z6p97uGou7lWf7WEskx41S0VpTVqgvfKAsOEWtu4frQQ3GbhXSo-bTa35vz-gmWte8ctiy55SOGS-Vv4EnmCj8DqN9Hgl5DM5dugIs1UluAxLDLw7UCs30gaBbFgBftk2mV2jZoNrYGSJmJMXh4NDyl_CvtsrYiHxrLY5XhUY7ARzuyDWz12GbTHWb221fAD01yUVE0tofXAaP-omZsYqB-c8tUFmGOhjsn59oVk30xTeOuVLM-IPCz7K8XxnqNuxrWoHwJAKqMxp_AqGBwejr6EsrRJFyI1NyHncRHamrjIJ3MjUvtnvoswkuYgUcvSNbVv_rceTzoXLqfR0FJlv-NbyNW_rrlmH0VQkDmoepfynylQeOfDXpejVVP9-d4pJBdJJqdkKQYZFq61Vj536_lnw8tjJQSp--IiABaAMXaUMxdeiAVumsYJIJcBvCnVCuTesRwcZdBBzLB_9yM4Y9tM08AzFM5-xpZa3lnfG_tA9-RFbQd_km6mC2uCk-9TlqUPna1nBLgbB9d4VkWL66i9jcRuKab7cftHlivIwR8vp3S4VKbvta9SB3OvlFBHrbQPsFc1NYxZmlZnYvAEGVFBDqwRXkornjGr9PG-aZgMBD27UWi9pgAaq3zk6rhowkL30yGSCL6ztvj-tp5pBFv2Vt6PwLTFpBD_7vyAtcXRe5RvlwFNdJrt0L3oo7_HG_2S0Hkw.hGL6rjv6f53fMOt9T_Sbww.e994fd8ee302e6661dd26b4389c1d8a3bea4cbe8af9ee8b43edcb1e679b67637 Henet Ward] trailer on Vimeo
• [https://vimeo.com/601428202 Khadiga] trailer on Vimeo
• [https://vimeo.com/824876347 I Promise You Paradise] trailer on Vimeo

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Category:1988 births

Category:Living people

Category:Egyptian screenwriters

Category:Film directors from Cairo

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