🎬 Bardiya Film Festival 2026: Magdy Abu Omira Heads Khaled Saleh Edition Jury
🎥 A new chapter for Bardiya Film Festival
The Bardiya Film Festival is preparing for its third edition, combining a tribute to one of Egypt's most recognizable actors with a growing focus on emerging filmmakers and new cinematic technologies.
The third edition will carry the name of the late actor Khaled Saleh, celebrating his artistic career and the memorable roles he delivered throughout his career.
The festival is scheduled to run from October 10 to October 16, 2026, at the Russian Cultural Center in Cairo.
🏆 Magdy Abu Omira heads the jury
Director Magdy Abu Omira will chair the jury of the third edition.
The jury also includes:
🎭 Actor Mohsen Sobhi.
👗 Dr. Laila El-Maghrabi, Professor of History and Fashion Sciences for Drama, Cinema and Theatre at the Academy of Arts.
🎬 Palestinian director Fayeq Jerada, President of Palestine Television.
🌟 Moroccan actress Samira Hawari.
The jury brings together different artistic, academic and cinematic backgrounds, reflecting the diversity of the festival's competitions.
🖤 An edition dedicated to Khaled Saleh
The festival chose to dedicate its third edition to the late Khaled Saleh, recognizing his contribution to Egyptian cinema and television drama.
The tribute continues Bardiya's tradition of naming its editions after major figures in Egyptian artistic history.
The first edition carried the name of director Atef El-Tayeb, while the second edition was dedicated to legendary screenwriter Wahid Hamed.
🎞️ Three competitions in the 2026 edition
The third edition introduces three major competition categories.
⚡ Flash Cinema
The first category focuses on extremely short films, with films required to remain within a maximum duration of five minutes.
This format challenges filmmakers to deliver a complete idea through highly concentrated storytelling, visual language and editing.
🎬 General Competition
The second category is the general competition for films with a maximum duration of 30 minutes, including opening and closing credits.
Awards include:
🏆 Best Film.
✍️ Best Screenplay.
🎥 Best Director.
🎭 Best Actor.
The competition provides filmmakers with additional time to develop stories while maintaining the festival's focus on short cinema.
🤖 Artificial Intelligence Film Competition
One of the most notable additions is a dedicated competition for AI-generated or AI-based films.
The category reflects the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies across the creative industries.
By introducing a dedicated competition, Bardiya creates a space for filmmakers to explore new visual and storytelling possibilities through emerging technologies.
📌 A key participation requirement
One of the general rules states that participating films must not have previously been shown on social media platforms.
Additional regulations apply depending on the specific competition category.
The rule is intended to preserve the premiere nature of participating works within the festival environment.
🇷🇺 Russian Cultural Center hosts the festival
The third edition will take place at the Russian Cultural Center in Cairo from October 10 to October 16.
The event follows a cooperation agreement involving Dr. Vadim Zaitchikov, Director of Russian Cultural Centers in Egypt, and Dr. Sherif Gad, Director of Cultural Activities at the center.
The partnership adds another cultural dimension to the festival and supports cooperation between cinematic and cultural institutions.
🎭 Looking back at previous editions
Bardiya's third edition follows two previous editions that celebrated major names in Egyptian cinema.
🎬 First edition: Atef El-Tayeb
The first edition carried the name of director Atef El-Tayeb and was chaired by screenwriter Abdel Rahim Kamal.
Actress Sawsan Badr was the opening ceremony's guest of honor, while actress Lobna attended the closing ceremony as guest of honor.
The festival also honored several prominent figures from Egyptian cinema and culture, including journalist Salma El-Shamaa, cinematographer Saeed Shimi, directors Omar Abdel Aziz and Hany Lasheen, screenwriter Nasser Abdel Rahman, poet Ibrahim Abdel Fattah, Father Botros Daniel, Palestinian director Fayeq Jerada, and Russian writer Vladimir Belyakov.
✍️ Second edition: Wahid Hamed
The second edition was dedicated to screenwriter Wahid Hamed and was held at the Al-Hanager Theatre at the Cairo Opera House.
The opening ceremony featured director Marwan Hamed and actress Ilham Shahin as guests of honor.
The festival honored several artists and cultural figures, including Hala Sedki, Mohamed Baghdady, Simone, Boussy Shalaby, Mohamed Faheem, Sherif Idris, and Saudi producer Khaled Al-Rajeh.
A book titled “Wahid Hamed: Awan Al-Ward” was also released during the edition, presented by critic Tarek El-Shenawy.
The closing ceremony honored actress Nehad Anbar, actor Mohamed Radwan, and cinematographer Mohsen Ahmed.
🎥 An evolving jury tradition
The second edition's jury was chaired by cinematographer Saeed Shimi, with poet Ibrahim Abdel Fattah, actor Mohsen Sobhi, Palestinian director Fayeq Jerada, and director Hassan Issa as members.
For the third edition, director Magdy Abu Omira takes over as jury chair, alongside a panel representing different artistic and cultural backgrounds.
🌟 Why the third edition stands out
The upcoming edition brings together several themes:
🖤 Honoring Khaled Saleh and preserving his artistic legacy.
🎬 Supporting short-film creators.
🤖 Exploring artificial intelligence in filmmaking.
🌍 Expanding cultural and Arab participation.
🎥 Connecting established industry figures with emerging filmmakers.
✨ Between cinematic heritage and digital creativity
The third Bardiya Film Festival is preparing to bring together two different sides of filmmaking: the legacy of established Egyptian cinema and the rapidly changing world of digital creativity.
The choice of Khaled Saleh as the edition's namesake provides a strong connection to Egyptian artistic heritage, while the AI film competition reflects the technological changes reshaping contemporary filmmaking.
📅 From October 10 to October 16, 2026, filmmakers, artists and cinema enthusiasts will gather for a week of screenings, competitions and cultural activities.
🎬 The third Bardiya edition promises a meeting point between cinematic memory, short-form storytelling and emerging technology.
🔚 Fixed Closing
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