‘Sand City’ wins award at Cairo International Film Festival

Yesterday, the Cairo International Film Festival announced this year's winners, with Mahde Hasan's "Sand City" receiving the Henry Barakat Award for Best Artistic Contribution in the International Competition category.

The film recently had its Africa and Arab premiere at the Grand Hall of the Cairo Opera House as part of the festival's 2025 edition.

"Sand City" is produced by Rubaiyat Hossain and Aadnan Imtiaz Ahmed under Khona Talkies, in association with Cinema Cocoon.

The film follows two characters bound by their connection to sand. Emma (Victoria Chakma) discovers a severed finger while collecting cat litter, triggering a dark and unsettling obsession. Meanwhile, Hasan (Mostafa Monwar) steals sand from a washing plant to make glass at home, gradually losing himself in a dangerous fantasy of building a glass empire.

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Bangladeshi film ‘Sand City’ wins top prize at Karlovy Vary Film Festival

The film has been earning rave reviews at international festivals. Earlier, it won the prestigious Proxima Grand Prix at the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.