This February 13 and 14, Mazra’a Network x Horizon Festival launch their first Cairo edition. Horizon Festival, the travelling short film festival previously hosted in Paris, Barcelona, and Brussels, is making its Africa and SWANA debut in Cairo.
Taking place at the Institut Français d’Égypte on February 13 and 14, the festival celebrates emerging filmmakers, photographers, and musicians whose work reflects the urgency, friction, and resilience of a new generation.
In partnership with Mazra’a Network, the festival brings together creators from Egypt, the wider SWANA region, and Europe. This edition is not about reinventing the wheel. Instead, it is an invitation to acknowledge the resistance young artists face as they fight to be heard and seen.
Film Programs and Panels
The festival’s core program features two short film screenings showcasing nine films from across Europe and the SWANA region. The selected works include:
- At The Highest (2025), directed by Il-Ham Mohamed Said (France/Morocco)
- 8 Candles, directed by Seif Ali (Egypt)
- Always with You, directed by Salma Samir Shahin (Egypt)
- Bitter Greens, Tangled Roots, directed by Abdallah Dannaoui (Lebanon/UK)
- Tres Mares, directed by Beruh Pietx Prat (Spain/Catalonia)
- Liter of Gas, directed by Ibrahim Ramy (Egypt)
- Le Verre de Thé, directed by Sara Bernanos (France)
- Cet été là, directed by Yassin Hayani (Belgium)
- The Sun Sets on Beirut, directed by Daniela Stephan (Lebanon)
These films explore themes of identity, memory, displacement, and belonging. Each screening will be followed by panel discussions featuring local and international filmmakers, creating space for dialogue around independent cinema, cross-cultural storytelling, and the realities of emerging artists today.
Photography Exhibition
Running alongside the film program is a photography exhibition, What Their Eyes Carry, in the French Institute’s patio, featuring works by Farida Mahdy (Egypt), Zineb Koutten (Morocco), and Nadir Layachi (France).
In this exhibition, these spaces, intimate interiors or public streets, are charged with memory and meaning. They reflect both familiarity and estrangement, serving as stages where personal histories confront external gazes.
Through careful attention to places, objects, and inherited details, the artists question representation and image-making itself. Their work explores identities shaped by social and cultural environments, transforming everyday or overlooked aesthetics into powerful artistic subjects. In doing so, they reveal what their eyes carry: heritage, resistance, and new visual propositions rooted in lived reality.
Mira Bahgat and Carly Gibert Live in Cairo
The festival concludes on a high note with a free, open-to-the-public concert in the French Institute’s garden.
Mira Bahgat
The evening opens with Egyptian-Syrian multidisciplinary artist Mira Bahgat, whose sound blends Pop, Jazz, and Arabic Folk. Born in Cairo and shaped by life between Egypt, Syria, and the United States, Mira uses music to explore themes of mental health and resilience. Her single “The Nights,” released in December 2025, precedes her debut EP Delirium, set for release in February 2026.
Carly Gilbert
For the first time in Cairo, Spanish artist Carly Gibert will also take the stage. An independent singer-songwriter, rapper, and producer from Catalonia. Gibert is known for merging pop, hip-hop, house, and experimental influences. With a growing global audience on Spotify and YouTube, she represents a new wave of self-directed, multidisciplinary creatives.
Celebrating Art
Mazra’a Network x Horizon Festival launch theur First Cairo edition. The festival celebrates young voices, film, photography, and live music. Horizon Festival Cairo offers a dynamic cultural platform for young voices, proving that art continues to transcend borders and bring communities together.