Al Ismaelia for Real Estate Investment, established in 2008, continues to preserve, restore and showcase the architectural heritage and grandeur found in Downtown Cairo (West El Balad) with their initiative “Dakhli West El Balad” by partaking in CineGouna’s fourth edition.

In addition to Al Ismaelia’s impressive efforts in providing a unique experience of West El Balad through acquisition management, renovation, and leasing of the monumental buildings, they do so through supporting art. Not only art, but its creators in different fields to immerse the audience in the history and beauty of Egypt’s city center.

Dakhli West El Balad is the first initiative of its kind, with a specialized platform that puts forward authentic locations, countless landmarks, and historical buildings found in Downtown Cairo and makes them accessible for art.

Art, where many photographers, filmmakers, and visual artists found inspiration and interest and chose Downtown Cairo as the backdrop of their projects, be its movie sets, photoshoot backgrounds, or exhibitions.

To continue highlighting West El Balad in an artistic and archeologic way, Al Ismaelia partook, for yet another year, in CineGouna.

CineGouna is the creative hub at the Gouna Film Festival that empowers and allows filmmakers, producers, and rising creators to pitch their ideas, gain recognition, find their artistic paths, and gain creative and financial support among Arab and International professionals.

And Dakhli West El Balad was part of its Springboard competition, where the competing projects were assessed by a jury of industry experts and a representative from Al Ismaelia. The winning project Bye Bye Tiberias by Lina Souelam was awarded a CineGouna Platform Certificate and a cash prize Dakhli West El Balad to help make Souelam’s film reach the public.

To date, Al Ismaelia has acquired a total of 25 signature heritage properties in the heart of the city, including the award-winning La Viennoise, Cinema Radio, Tamara, Kodak, Shourbagy, and many more historical buildings all set in the heart of Downtown Cairo.

Making use of these grand buildings with art is what drives Dakhli West El Balad and its mother company Al Ismaelia. Their vision is “to restore and revive Downtown Cairo to be the global face of Egypt through providing comprehensive contemporary experiences that merge Downtown’s historic legacy with modern culture,” Nada Hussein from their marketing team told us.

“Al Ismaelia is committed to the discovery of new talents and enhancing the arts and culture scene in Downtown Cairo.”