Luxor African Film Festival Announces a New Partnership in Its 15th Edition

Special Section on Films and Water

As part of its commitment to shedding light on the deep relationship between Egyptians and the Nile River, director Azza El Hosseiny, Director of the Luxor African Film Festival, announced a collaboration with the Let’s Talk About Water initiative, founded and directed by Picture and film researcher Linda Lilienfeld. The initiative is an international platform that uses cinema as a tool to spark dialogue and raise awareness on water issues, climate change, and their impact on humanity’s future.

Scriptwriter Sayed Fouad, President of the Festival, stated that this collaboration is the result of a partnership and support from the African Film Festival New York, which played a major role in building bridges of communication and coordination, enabling the establishment of this cultural and humanitarian project between Luxor and Let’s Talk About Water.

The collaboration includes screenings of a curated selection of short films presented by the initiative, followed by a panel discussion with the Let’s Talk About Water team to address the issues raised by the works. This enhances the festival’s role in connecting art with major humanitarian concerns.

This section will also feature special screenings about the Nile in cooperation with the Cultural Development Fund:

“Springs of the Sun” — a documentary directed by John Feeney and filmed by cinematographer Hassan El Telmisany. The 85-minute film captures the last Nile floods before the construction of the High Dam, offering a journey along the river’s sources from the Ethiopian Plateau to its mouth in the Mediterranean Sea, within a profound visual and poetic narrative.
“The People and the Nile” — a docu-drama by the great filmmaker Youssef Chahine, presented this year in collaboration with Misr International Films in celebration of his centenary. The film documents a pivotal historical stage in the lives of Egyptians and Soviets during the construction of the High Dam, portraying through its characters the human interaction with a national project that reshaped history, merging human drama with documentary depth to capture societal transformation.

The festival management expressed its pride in this collaboration with Let’s Talk About Water, affirming that integrating refined visual art with human and historical issues makes Luxor a dynamic intellectual and artistic platform. It illuminates the horizons of creativity and reflection and opens new avenues for cultural cooperation between African and international festivals.

The festival had previously announced that its 15th edition will take place from March 30 to April 5, 2026.

The Luxor African Film Festival will be held under the honorary presidency of the renowned star Mahmoud Hemida, with producer and distributor Gabriel Khoury presiding over the Higher Committee. It is organized by the Independent Shabab Foundation for Support and Development, a non-profit civil organization, in partnership with Egypt’s Ministries of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Youth and Sports, and Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with Luxor Governorate, and under the patronage of the Egyptian Film Syndicate, the National Bank of Egypt, Misr International Films, and the Kemet Boutros Ghali Foundation for Peace and Knowledge