Your Guide to Manassat Film Festival's Creative Workshops

For its 10th edition, launching on May 19th, the Manassat Film Festival holds a line-up of workshops spread across Downtown. Taking place between The Factory, Dawar Arts, and the streets of Downtown Cairo, the programme moves across cinema, photography, fiction and poetry.

From special effects makeup and character design to street photography, generative fiction, and collective poetry, the programme explores the many ways stories are shaped, captured, and told. Whether through the technical craft of filmmaking or the more personal terrain of writing and memory, the workshops offer participants a chance to step behind the scenes of different creative practices while developing their own voice and perspective.

Character Making and the Art of Illusion

The Factory, Wednesday, May 20th 11:00 am - 3:00 pm  

A four-hour SFX masterclass with Amr Abdallah exploring the craft behind special effects makeup, prosthetics, and character design through live demonstrations and behind-the-scenes case studies.

Haunted

Dawar, Wednesday, May 20th 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

The Factory, Thursday, May 21st 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Writer and educator Zeynep Özakat leads this two-day generative fiction workshop through guided prompts, discussions, and peer-sharing sessions centred around the stories, memories, and obsessions that refuse to let go.

What Makes a Composition?

Dawar, Wednesday, May 20th 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Downtown Cairo, Friday, May 22 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Led by journalist and filmmaker Adam Makary, this two-day photography workshop explores shot composition, colour theory, and visual storytelling before taking participants into the streets of Downtown Cairo for a hands-on practical session.

Ebb & Flow

Dawar, Thursday, May 21st 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

In this interactive poetry workshop, Rana Al Tonsi approaches poetry as a fluid and collective space for experimentation, conversation, and shared interpretation across forms and experiences.