Director Morad Mostafa is celebrating a slew of firsts at Cannes 2025: His debut feature, “Aisha Can’t Fly Away,” will premiere during the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, with his lead actress Buliana Simon Arop (starring as the title character) marking her first role onscreen. “Aisha Can’t Fly Away” is also the first Egyptian film to be included in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard in 9 years. There seems to be nothing for Mostafa to have to “fly away” from this festival circuit, and the filmmaker is poised to be a breakout star.
“Aisha Can’t Fly Away” centers on 26-year-old Sudanese caregiver, Aisha (Arop), who lives in the heart of Cairo. While there, she witnesses the tension between her fellow African migrants and local gangs, leading to a reckoning of sorts. The official synopsis reads: “Stuck between an undefined relationship with a young Egyptian cook, a gangster that blackmails her into an unethical deal in exchange for safety, and a new house she’s assigned to work in, Aisha struggles to cope with her fears and lost battles, causing her dreams to cross with reality and leading her to an impasse.” Ziad Zaza, Emad Ghoniem, and Mamdouh Saleh co-star.
Mostafa previously helmed short films “Henet Ward,” “What We Don’t Know About Miriam,” “Khadiga,” and “I Promise You Paradise,” the latter of which won the Rail d’Or award during the Cannes 2023 Critics’ Week. His feature debut, “Aisha Can’t Fly Away,” was funded in part by grants from the Torino Film Lab and the Final Cut award at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. Mostafa cowrote the script with producer Sawsan Youssef and Mohamed Abdelader.
“I pieced this film a while back using moments stuck in memory,” Mostafa said in a press statement. “I remember when I was riding a microbus while visiting Ain Shams, I noticed an African girl with a tired face resting her head on the glass and sleeping next to me; she then suddenly woke up frightened and crying hysterically, startling me and the other passengers before leaving without so much as an explanation. That, I think, is what triggered this project. Oftentimes, I found myself thinking about the girl: what were her dreams and fears? How would they merge into the fabric of reality around her in a city that is cruel to its own people, let alone newcomers?”
Mostafa continued of the feature, “‘Aisha Can’t Fly Away’ is not a migration story; it is more universal than that. Aisha knows deep inside that she can’t live in peace in a world where people are only defined by their skin tone. The film is about the sense of belonging and the need to be seen no matter how hard it is. It is a deep dive into the loneliness of the ostracized, who are constantly in survival mode, yet still dare to dream and find light in the darkest of places. Without giving away too much, with this film, I aim to explore themes of justice in creative and imaginative ways.”
“Aisha Can’t Fly Away” is produced by Sawsan Yusuf, with co-producers Dora Bouchoucha and Lina Shaban (Nomadis Images), Sherif Fathy (Shift Studios), Ahmed Amer (A.A Films), Faisal Baltayour (Cinewaves), Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab (MAD Solutions), May Odeh and Zorana Musikic (Mayana Films), Laura Nikolov (Coorigines), and Amjad Abu Alala. The feature is a Bonanza Films, Nomadis Images, Cinewaves, A.A Films, Coorigines, Shift Studios, and Mayana Films production.
“Aisha Can’t Fly Away” premieres during Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section. MAD World is handling sales. Check out the teaser, an IndieWire exclusive, below.
