The Cairo Human Rights Film Festival presents free screenings of dynamic films on human rights from around the world. An initiative of the American Islamic Congress (AIC), the festival has been spotlighted by Time Magazine, BBC, and Al Jazeera as a pioneering effort in the Middle East to explore individual rights through cinema. Exposing Egyptian audiences to human rights challenges around the world, the festival underscores the universality of individual rights.

In 2008, three years before Egyptians took to Tahrir Square to protest repression, AIC's Egypt office launched the festival. At the time, no theater in Cairo could agree to host the opening - so organizers booked a Nile cruise boat and held the opening on the water. CHRFF has today grown into an annual event held in major theaters with films on human rights in Senegal to Sri Lanka and beyond.

This year, the festival's opening ceremony showcases the winners of AIC's "Eye to Heart" short film competition, which challenged emerging young Middle Eastern filmmakers to explore the development of character in their own societies. The winning directors' provocative works will debut at the festival.

The American Islamic Congress is a civil rights organization promoting tolerance and the exchange of ideas among all peoples. Headquartered in Washington, AIC has offices in Boston, Tunis, Cairo, Baghdad, and Basra. For more information, please see http://www.aicongress.org.