YOMEDDINE 
ZODIAC 
FILM ARABI 
Two years ago Egyptian film producer and screenwriter Mohamed Hefzy was appointed president of the Cairo Film Festival with a mandate to revamp and relaunch the prominent Arab fest, which had been losing luster due to political turbulence. Having largely accomplished that with last year's watershed edition, Hefzy had to face new challenges this year, contending with COVID-19, of course. But also with the resignation of the event's former artistic director, Ahmed Shawky, just days into the job following a...
Film Clinic, Cairo International Film Festival
Mohamed
Hefzy
President, CIFF / Founding Director, Film Clinic
The youngest ever director of the Cairo International Film Festival, Hefzy is a consistently bold leader, deciding to stage the fest’s “Cairo Industry Days” as an in-person event in the time of the coronavirus pandemic. But he couldn’t escape the wrath of COVID-19 on the series “Paranormal,” Netflix’s first Arabic original out of Egypt, which he is producing with director Amr Salama. The production was forced to shut down five days before the end of principal photography and did not resume shooting for another four months. Amid all this, Hefzy — known for churning out edgy titles including “Microphone” and “Sheikh Jackson” via his Film Clinic shingle — managed to produce two other movies: Mohamed Diab’s “Amira” and two-time Oscar nominee Hany Abu-Asaad’s “Huda’s Salon.”
