Fresh Faces: Morad Mostafa Debuts With ‘Aisha Can’t Fly Away’ in Un Certain Regard: ‘I Wanted to Talk About Our Society Through Non-Egyptian Characters’

By Alissa Simon

Debuting feature helmer Morad Mostafa is proud to be representing Egypt with his Un Certain Regard-selected “Aisha Can’t Fly Away,” about the fraught existence of a lonely South Sudanese care-worker in Cairo. It represents the first title from his homeland in the section since Mohamed Diab’s “Clash” in 2016.

Even though “Aisha” marks his first feature, Mostafa is no stranger to Cannes. His most recent short, “I Promise You Paradise,” won the 2023 Critics’ Weeks Rail d’Or and the Valbonne Audience Award; he went on to develop “Aisha” at a Cinéfondation residency in 2024.

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