Writer and director Omar Shargawi's film Al Medina has been selected to compete at the Arab Competition for Long Narrative Films within the 3rd edition of the Prospects of Arab Cinema (PAC) competition during the 38th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) (15-24 November).

This comes within the news that have been revealed by the Carthage Film Festival (JCC) (October 28 - November 5) on the film's participation within the festival's Official Competition.

Al Medina will compete at the Arab Camera Festival in Rotterdam which will be held from September 29th to November 2nd. The film is slated to be released in theatres across the Arab world soon. Most recently, Al Medina has been screened at the Oran International Arab Film Festival (FIOFA). Landing its world premiere at the 12th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) and contending within the Muhr Fiction Feature competition, Al Medina has been commercially released in Denmark last May.

Written and directed by Omar Shargawi, Al Medina tells the story of Yusif who decides to come back along with his Danish pregnant wife Sarah to his home town Al Medina. His God fearing heart is following a dream of returning to his roots to search for peace and happiness with his wife and unborn child. Yet only when he kills a beggar boy, by mistake, does his life change and this throws him into the dark side of his own home town.

Along with Omar Shargawi, Al Medina stars Ashraf Farah, Ghazal, Sara Hjort Ditlevsen, Hassan Shaer, Nadera Omran, Majida Al Bashayreh, Makram Khoury, Siham Al Kurdi, and Ali Elian.

Al Medina is a co-production between Rula Nasser (The Imaginarium) and Danish producers Tomas Radoor and Rene Ezra (Nordisk Film Production). The film's Arab world distribution and marketing is assigned to MAD Distributions.

The Prospects of Arab Cinema (PAC) is an Independent parallel program organized by the Egyptian Filmmakers Syndicate (EFMS) during the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) and supported by the festival. PAC aims to contribute to the art and science of filmmaking and also to encourage intercultural dialogue. To be held from the 16th to the 24th of November, eight films will be contending at the programme's Arab Competition for Long Narrative Films and three awards will be offered, including the Salah Abou-Seif Prize for Best Film (EFMS Shield) and $5000; the Saad El-DeenWahba Prize for Best Artistic Contribution (EFMS Shield) and $3000; and the Radwan El-Kashef Prize (Jury's Appreciation Certificate).

This year, the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) lands its 38th edition (15-24 November) headed by film critic Magda Wassef in her capacity as the Festival President, film critic Youssef Cherif Rizkallah as the Artistic Director and star Mahmoud Hemida as the Honorary Director of the festival. CIFF is the only festival in the Arab world and Africa that has been accredited by The International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) in Paris, along with another 13 international film festivals.