Festival Programmers Say a Film's Route Matters as Much as Its Making

Two festival leaders have said that a film's path to the screen depends as much on where it is sent as on how it was made. Variety reported their remarks on 30 October 2026, from a panel called "Film Festivals Decoded: What Happens After You Press Submit?" at the 13th Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth in the United Arab Emirates.

The speakers were Rosh Abdelfattah, artistic director of the Rotterdam Arab Film Festival, and Mohamed Mahmoud, president of the Alexandria International Short Film Festival. The panel was billed as bringing together festival programmers and directors to talk about selection. Festivals are the public showcases where programmers pick films, and where sales agents and buyers look for work to take further.

Abdelfattah described one tie-breaker he would use. If a Sudanese film and an Egyptian film were of equal artistic quality, he said, he would choose the Sudanese film, to give it an audience and a stage. His reason was simple: Egypt produces far more films than Sudan.

He also warned about the growth of labs, co-production programmes and development pipelines over the past decade. These schemes help films get made, he said, but they can leave a film without its individual character and personal touch. He estimated that roughly half or more of the Rotterdam Arab programme comes through Arab festivals such as Cairo and Red Sea.

Mahmoud focused on what happens before a film is ever selected. Filmmakers, he said, too often submit without checking whether a festival suits their work. A social-issues film sent to a festival built around environmental themes is one example. He urged makers to think about their premiere plan, meaning where and when a film first screens, along with a festival's programming priorities and whether its audience fits the film.

He also said that film distribution has become as important as editing, cinematography, production and directing. For many makers, getting a film seen is now a job that needs its own planning.

Mahmoud listed four common submission mistakes. Entrants pick the wrong competition, leave forms or materials incomplete, fail to answer festival requests, or send films outside the eligibility dates. Each one can end an entry before a programmer watches a frame.

Mahmoud also pushed back on a common reading of the results. Acceptance into a festival, he said, does not necessarily mean a film is good or the best in its field. Rejection, he added, does not mean a film lacks quality or artistic value. A festival line-up reflects one programmer's needs and one festival's aims, as much as any judgement of a film's worth.

The Sharjah festival itself runs an Industry Hub and a pitching programme for young filmmakers, according to Variety's earlier coverage of the 2026 edition. Its director is Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi. For makers who are still choosing where to send their work, the panel's message was practical: research each festival, match the film to its audience, and read the rules before the deadline.