Timimoun festival: Egyptian short film Zizou enters official competition

Egypt is represented at the Timimoun International Short Film Festival in Algeria by “Zizou”, a film directed by Khaled Maeit that has been selected for the event’s official competition.

The film follows a 13-year-old boy who struggles with his weight and tries to win the friendship of the most popular boy in his neighbourhood. His repeated attempts to fit in expose him to mockery and unexpected situations, stirring up feelings he has never resolved.

Set in an ordinary district, the story raises questions about identity, self-acceptance and friendship in adolescence, along with belonging, the body and social relationships.

This year the festival received 3,265 submissions from 132 countries: 1,603 fiction films, 1,033 documentaries and 629 animated works. Its first edition had drawn 2,733 submissions and screened 62 films from 31 countries.

Selection committees made up of Algerian and foreign filmmakers sorted the entries in two rounds. The final programme comprises 63 films, 37 of them in competition, split between 16 fiction films, 13 documentaries and 8 animated films.