Director Morad Mostafa is celebrating a slew of firsts at Cannes 2025: His debut characteristic, “Aisha Can’t Fly Away,” will premiere through the Un Sure Regard part at Cannes, along with his lead actress Buliana Simon Arop (starring because the title character) marking her first function onscreen. “Aisha Can’t Fly Away” can be the primary Egyptian movie to be included in Cannes’ Un Sure Regard in 9 years. There appears to be nothing for Mostafa to must “fly away” from this pageant circuit, and the filmmaker is poised to be a breakout star.
“Aisha Can’t Fly Away” facilities on 26-year-old Sudanese caregiver, Aisha (Arop), who lives within the coronary heart of Cairo. Whereas there, she witnesses the strain between her fellow African migrants and native gangs, resulting in a reckoning of types. The official synopsis reads: “Caught between an undefined relationship with a younger Egyptian cook dinner, a gangster that blackmails her into an unethical deal in trade for security, and a brand new home she’s assigned to work in, Aisha struggles to deal with her fears and misplaced battles, inflicting her goals to cross with actuality and main her to an deadlock.” Ziad Zaza, Emad Ghoniem, and Mamdouh Saleh co-star.
Mostafa beforehand helmed brief movies “Henet Ward,” “What We Don’t Know About Miriam,” “Khadiga,” and “I Promise You Paradise,” the latter of which received the Rail d’Or award through the Cannes 2023 Critics’ Week. His characteristic debut, “Aisha Can’t Fly Away,” was funded partially by grants from the Torino Movie Lab and the Ultimate Lower award at the 81st Venice Worldwide Movie Competition. Mostafa cowrote the script with producer Sawsan Youssef and Mohamed Abdelader.
“I pieced this movie some time again utilizing moments caught in reminiscence,” Mostafa mentioned in a press assertion. “I bear in mind once I was using a microbus whereas visiting Ain Shams, I seen an African woman with a drained face resting her head on the glass and sleeping subsequent to me; she then abruptly awoke frightened and crying hysterically, startling me and the opposite passengers earlier than leaving with out a lot as a proof. That, I feel, is what triggered this challenge. Oftentimes, I discovered myself fascinated with the woman: what had been her goals and fears? How would they merge into the material of actuality round her in a metropolis that’s merciless to its personal individuals, not to mention newcomers?”
Mostafa continued of the characteristic, “‘Aisha Can’t Fly Away’ is just not a migration story; it’s extra common than that. Aisha is aware of deep inside that she will be able to’t dwell in peace in a world the place persons are solely outlined by their pores and skin tone. The movie is in regards to the sense of belonging and the have to be seen irrespective of how exhausting it’s. It’s a deep dive into the loneliness of the ostracized, who’re consistently in survival mode, but nonetheless dare to dream and discover gentle within the darkest of locations. With out giving freely an excessive amount of, with this movie, I goal to discover themes of justice in inventive and imaginative methods.”
“Aisha Can’t Fly Away” is produced by Sawsan Yusuf, with co-producers Dora Bouchoucha and Lina Shaban (Nomadis Pictures), Sherif Fathy (Shift Studios), Ahmed Amer (A.A Movies), Faisal Baltayour (Cinewaves), Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab (MAD Options), Might Odeh and Zorana Musikic (Mayana Movies), Laura Nikolov (Coorigines), and Amjad Abu Alala. The characteristic is a Bonanza Movies, Nomadis Pictures, Cinewaves, A.A Movies, Coorigines, Shift Studios, and Mayana Movies manufacturing.
“Aisha Can’t Fly Away” premieres throughout Cannes’ Un Sure Regard part. MAD World is dealing with gross sales. Take a look at the teaser, an IndieWire unique, beneath.