News from Civsy, based on generative AI tools and retrieval-augumented real time data search

The censorship of Better than Earth at the 26th Ismailia International Film Festival shows how informal decisions by Egyptian authorities can effectively block a film from public view, even inside a state‑run event that claims to support independent cinema. The case reveals both the fragility of artistic freedom within Egypt’s censorship regime and the limited, often discreet forms of resistance available to festival organisers and filmmakers.

The film and its path to Ismailia
Better than Earth (2023/2024), directed by Egyptian filmmaker Sherif El Bendary, follows Radwa, a 20‑year‑old student facing harassment from her roommate Sarah in a women’s university dormitory in Cairo, and her attempt to seek protection by filing a complaint with the dormitory supervisor. The short film has already travelled widely on the festival circuit, including screenings at major events and recognition at Carthage Film Festival, where Egyptian films and filmmakers received prominent awards in 2025. El Bendary himself is an established figure in Egyptian cinema, known for award‑winning shorts such as Dry Hot Summers and the feature Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim, and for his work supporting new directors through his production company.

Verbal censorship and festival workaround
For the 26th edition of the Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentary and Short Films, scheduled for February 2025, Better than Earth was selected for competition but was denied a permit for public screening by Egypt’s Board of Censorship through a purely verbal decision. Instead of issuing a written decree stating reasons or legal grounds, the censorship body communicated an oral ban, effectively excluding the film from public audiences in Ismailia without leaving a formal trace. Festival director Hala Galal nonetheless secured a compromise: the film would be screened privately to the jury and remain in official competition, creating a paradox in which a “banned” film could be judged for prizes but not seen by the public it was ostensibly programmed for.

Legal vacuum and arbitrary power
Sherif El Bendary challenged this arrangement, arguing that a verbal decision has no legal standing and that the Board of Censorship must either issue a documented, reasoned refusal or allow the public screening to go ahead. His position points to a structural weakness in Egypt’s censorship system, rooted in Law 430 of 1955 and its implementing regulations, which give the Ministry of Culture broad powers over the licensing, screening and public performance of audio‑visual works. While the law requires prior authorisation for distribution and exhibition, its vague terms and wide discretionary powers enable authorities to act informally, opening the door to undocumented interventions that are difficult to contest or appeal.

Why this case matters
The Better than Earth incident underscores how festival selection is no guarantee of visibility when censorship bodies retain unchecked, opaque authority over what may be seen in public. When bans are delivered verbally, accountability disappears: there is no written decision to challenge in court, no official reasoning to scrutinise, and no clear record for future advocacy. At the same time, the Ismailia festival’s partial workaround, keeping the film in competition and screening it to the jury, illustrates how some cultural actors within state‑linked institutions try to protect contested works, even if only within closed professional spaces. For artists, this means that recognition and awards can coexist with effective silencing: a film may win prizes abroad and circulate among juries and programmers, while Egyptian audiences remain barred from seeing it, locked out by a censorship system that can still operate with a whisper instead of a signed order.

References

When censorship leaves no paper trail, accountability disappears.

The case of Better than Earth at the Ismailia International Film Festival shows how Egyptian authorities can block films through verbal decisions alone, keeping them out of public view even inside state-run festivals that claim to support independent cinema.

This incident reveals both the fragility of artistic freedom in Egypt and the quiet, constrained resistance of cultural actors trying to protect contested works within the system.

#ArtisticFreedom #FilmCensorship #IndependentCinema #EgyptianCinema #FreedomOfExpression #FilmFestivals #CulturalPolicy

Informal, verbal Censorship Silences Egyptian Independent Cinema

Partners

Efforts