Bunch of events, secrets and tributes for Egyptian stars took the lights to Alexandria where The 39th event launched on Sunday night with a ceremony held at the Alexandria library . The festival will run until October 5.
Actors, directors and celebrities from 26 different countries had been arriving in Egypt over the past week to join the festival although there is no red carpet to walk in.
12 films competed in the feature film competition, including the French “5 Hectares” directed by Emily Deliuzzi, the Italian-Danish film “Alien Food” directed by Giorgio Cogno, the Lebanese film “Crossroads” directed by Lara Saba, and the Moroccan film “Peace and Journey” Directed by Moulay Tayeb Bouhanana, who won the First Work Award, the Jury Award from the Dakhla Film Festival in Morocco, the Best Screenplay, and the Best Production Design Award from the Jaipur Film Festival in India.
At the same competition, the films “The Black Stone” directed by Spyros Jacofidis, “Ilericum” directed by Simon Bogojevic Narat in its first screening in Africa and the Middle East.
The film won the Best Make-up Award from the “Pala” Film Festival in Croatia, in addition to the film “Faith.” Directed by Kyriakos Tovarides and Corina Avramidou, it previously won the Best Film Award from the San Antonio, Ecuador, and Inca Imperial International Film Festivals in Rio, and also won the Special Jury Award and a mention for Best Actress from the Los Angeles Film Festival.
In the international competition, the film “Matria – Motherland”, directed by Alvaro Gago, was screened and won the Best Actress Award from the Malaga Spanish Film Festival and the Jury Award from the Seattle Film Festival. The film “A Song from Bosnia and Herzegovina”, directed by Aida Begic, won the Best Film Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
Finally, the film “Penny”, directed by Slobodan Maksimovic, participated, which won the Audience Award from the Sarajevo Film Festival, and the Best Film from the International Childhood and Youth Film Festival.
In the short film competition, 26 films competed, including the Egyptian “Fatima” by director Ahmed Adel, which won the screenplay award last year from the Alexandria Film Festival. From Egypt, the films “Call” by director Amina Arafa, “The Sleeping Beauty” directed by Abdel Fattah Zidane, and “Hajar Mu’asal” directed by Yazid Al-Dali are also participating in the same competition. The Tunisian film “My Blood and My Flesh” directed by Enas Arsi, and the Palestinian film “Blood and My Flesh” are also participating in the same competition. “Sumud” directed by Imtiaz Al-Maghribi, the Syrian film “Laila and the Chivalry” directed by Khaled Othman, and the Moroccan film “Awakening”.
Among the important films witnessed in the competition are the French film “A Film in the Dark” directed by Mor Tala Andioni, in a global premiere, and the film “11:20 AM” directed by Dimitri Nakos, in a premiere in Africa and the Middle East, and the film “Ilia” from Directed by Niccolò Batgligliro in a world premiere, “Sports Day” directed by Auguste Adrien Bratz, “Akeronte River” directed by Manuel Moz Rivas in an African and Middle East premiere, and the Moroccan film “The Silence of Aida” directed by Ahmed Messaoudi, in a world premiere. First in Egypt, and the Italian film “Emotional Montage” directed by Stefano Etter has a world premiere.
Egyptian glamorous
Egyptian films shined in the Egyptian Film Competition, and five films participated: “Maryam’s Choice” by director Mahmoud Yahya, “The Last Row” by director Sherif Mohsen, “As for the Weather” directed by Ahmed Haddad, and “Sea of Diamonds” directed by Saif Youssef. Finally, “Taf Al Khait” directed by Sherif Shaaban.
In the Youth Film Competition, 34 films competed, including the film “Calling a Guardian” directed by Karim Al-Masry, “Grondamm” directed by Jana Al-Salami, the film “The Workshop” directed by Omnia Salah, the film “City of the Dead” directed by Mohamed Al-Ganzouri, and the film “This… The Lake is Not Water” directed by Rawan Shawky, “Crystals” directed by Mohamed Kamel, and “Mazahir” directed by Malak Hassan.
Juries
The jury included Albanian director Flonia Kudelli and Spanish producer Juanma Baggo for the international feature film competition. The short film competition jury is headed by artist Mohamed Riyad, and its members include Andrea Ludovicti from Italy and Amer Salmeen from the Emirates. The Egyptian Film Competition jury is headed by actress Sherine Reda, and its members include critic Essam Zakaria and editor Dina Abdel Salam.
As for the Egyptian Youth Film Competition, its jury was composed of artist Joumana Murad, critic Samir Shehata, and Sami Helmy. The festival also included a scenario competition, and its jury was headed by Dr. Khaled Abdel Jalil, and its members included screenwriter Mohamed Al-Basousi and director Khaled Bahgat.
A sudden apology
Syrian artist Jamal Suleiman was supposed to join in the jury of the international competition at the Alexandria Film Festival for Mediterranean Countries, but he apologized and sent an official letter to Alamir Abaza, head of the festival.
Suleiman explained that the reason for his apology for participating was his presence in Iraq, as he was scheduled to return on September 30 of last year, but due to the fire in the city of Hamdaniya that shook the Arab world and led to the deaths of more than 100 people and the injury of 150 others, the event was postponed. He traveled for him, which delayed his return to Cairo.
Festival director Alamir Abaza told reporters that this year is different from all previous events, promising a number of surprises.
“The 39th edition is hosting some of this year’s most important films. We have titles which have already received awards from other film festivals this year but we’ve also got some really great films making their international debut with us,” he said.
“this year’s edition bore the name of the great actress Elham Shaheen in appreciation of her great artistic career, and her presentation of dozens of films that are considered among the most prominent cinematic works. She also participated in the production of films of high artistic value, not caring about the financial burden or fearing the production losses she was exposed to.” he said.
He continued, “The festival also honoring several important and influential public figures, such as the young actress Hanan Motawa, Khaled Zaki, and from France, the star Caroline Cellul.”
He added, “We also honored the great Greek director, actor, and musician, Costas Vers, and the Bride of the Mediterranean Medal was presented to the pioneer of Omani cinema and founder of the Muscat and International Film Festivals, director Dr. Khaled Al Zadjali, in appreciation of his contribution to Omani and Arab cinema.”
