To participate in the International Competition for feature fiction and documentary, films must meet all of the following criteria:
- The film should not have been screened in the International Competition of any of the Fifteen (15) festivals accredited by the FIAPF in the competitive non-specialized film festivals category.
- The film must not have been screened in the MENA region before its official screening at CIFF.
- The film must not have been released before November 2024.
- Duration of the film must exceed sixty (60) minutes.

- The film must not have been screened on any TV or sat channel, or any digital platform or VOD (except for festivals’ screenings) before its official screening at CIFF.

The board of CIFF will select the jury of the International Competition for feature films. The jury will be composed according to the rules of FIAPF.

All Jury members must not have any professional relation and/or has contributed to the making of any of the films officially selected in the four competitions of CIFF.

To participate in the Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition for feature fiction and documentary, the films must meet the following criteria:
- The film must not have been released before November 2024.
- Duration of the film must exceed sixty (60) minutes.
- The film must not have been screened in Egypt before its official screening at CIFF.
- The film must not have been screened on any TV or sat channel, or any digital platform or VOD (except for festivals’ screenings) before its official screening at CIFF.

- Horizons of Arab Cinema can have an out of competition section, to have special Arabic films at the festival’s discretion. 

The board of CIFF will select the jury of the Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition.

All Jury members must not have any professional relation and/or has contributed to the making of any of the films officially selected in the four competitions of CIFF.

To participate in the International Critics’ Week Competition for feature films, the films must meet the following criteria:
- The film must be the director’s first or second feature.
- The film must not have been released before November 2024.
- Duration of the film must exceed sixty (60) minutes.
- The film must not have been screened in the MENA region before its official screening at CIFF.
- The film must not have been screened on any TV or sat channel, or any digital platform or VOD (except for festivals’ screenings) before its official screening at CIFF.

The board of CIFF will select the jury of the International Critics’ Week Competition.

All Jury members must not have any professional relation and/or has contributed to the making of any of the films officially selected in the four competitions of CIFF.

To participate in the Short Film Competition, films must meet the following criteria:
- The film must not have been released before November 2024.
- Duration of the short film must not exceed thirty (30) minutes.
- All genres of shorts are accepted: fiction, non- fiction, animation, experimental.
- The film must not have been screened in the MENA region before its official screening at CIFF.

- The film must not have been screened on any TV or sat channel, or any digital platform or VOD (except for festivals’ screenings) before its official screening at CIFF.

The board of CIFF will select the jury of the Short Film Competition.

All Jury members must not have any professional relation and/or has contributed to the making of any of the films officially selected in the four competitions of CIFF.

To participate in Out of Competition, Special Screenings, International Panorama or Midnight Screenings, films must meet all of the following criteria:
- The film must not have been released before November 2024.
- Duration of the film must exceed sixty (60) minutes.
- The film must not have been screened in the MENA region before its official screening at CIFF.

- The film must not have been screened on any TV or sat channel, or any digital platform or VOD (except for festivals’ screenings) before its official screening at CIFF.

By submitting this application, you acknowledge and agree that if your film is accepted and awarded at the festival, it will have an additional screening the day following the awards ceremony, with no additional fees incurred.

Submitting your film to CIFF and acceptance of its participation in CIFF designates full acceptance of all regulation articles, which are issued in Arabic and English and are subject to Egyptian laws. In case of any dispute, the original Arabic text is to be taken as the decisive transcript and the dispute is submitted before Cairo competent courts.