Cairo International Film Festival

Cairo International Film Festival
مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي
Location Cairo, Egypt
Language International
Website www.ciff.org.eg

The Cairo International Film Festival (Arabic: مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual film festival held in Cairo, Egypt. It was established in 1976 and was the second international film festival held in the Arab world after the Carthage Film Festival which was established in 1966. It has taken place every year since its inception, except for 2011 and 2013, when it was cancelled due to budget limitations and political instability.[1][2] The 38th edition will take place from November 15th, to 24th, 2016. It is the only international competitive feature film festival recognized by the FIAPF in the Arab world and Africa, as well as the oldest in this category.

History

In 1975, after a visit to the Berlin Film Festival the late writer-critic Kamal El Mallakh and a group of like-minded cinema critics wondered why such a world-class festival couldn't take place in Egypt. The country was still riding the crest of Egyptian cinema's golden age and contained a formidable film industry, still the biggest in the Arab world. The Cairo International Film Festival was launched in 1976.[3]

The 1976 festival featured around 100 films from 33 countries, with 14 films from 14 different countries in competition. In an effort to celebrate the best international cinema, the Cairo International Film Festival has proven its daring and versatility year after year and continues to act as a meeting point not only for filmmakers and critics but also for writers, intellectuals and other artists.

The Egyptian Association of Film Writers and Critics headed the festival for the first seven years until 1983. In the following year, the Union of Artist's Syndicates supervised the festival, and after that point, several associations mustered their resources to run the festival. The Egyptian Association of Film Writers and Critics joined with the Ministry of Culture and the Union of Artist's Syndicates to form a joint committee in 1985 to improve the quality and financial state of the festival.

21st century

The Cairo International Film Festival moved into the 21st century with hope. Hussein Fahmy, President of Cairo Fest, told UKHotMovies.com at the turn of the Millennium: "As we are moving into the new century, we want to put away the wars and bombings and remember to laugh."

Egyptians seem grateful for the Festival, most are never exposed to films made outside of Egypt other than commercial level Hollywood productions. The Festival offers audiences the opportunity to watch films from other countries and gain insights into their customs, concerns, and cultures.

Despite behind-the-scenes interference from a severe dictatorship, Cairo's International Film Festival sometimes becomes a forum for political and cultural statements. 2003 became a major year for the festival when Egyptian film director Khaled Hagar presented his controversial 'Girls' Love.' This only Egyptian entry to the festival that year was the story of a love affair between a young Egyptian man and a Jewish woman. Hagar was strongly criticized in a country where the majority of people passionately oppose closer ties with the neighboring Jewish state.

Festival presidents

The presidents of the CIFF festival since it was founded in 1976 to 2006 are Saad El-Din Wahba, Hussein Fahmy and Sherif El Shoubashy. In the year 2006 a new president was appointed for the festival by Egyptian culture minister Farouk Hosny, he is Egyptian actor and musician Ezzat Abou-Ouf. In 2015, Magda Wassef was appointed as the new president. In 2009 the festival celebrated the contributions of Latin America movies, and honoured the French musician Charles Aznavour, the American actor Danny Glover, and other artists.

Awards and Honorees

The Cairo International Film Festival, in its annual celebration and examination of the state of cinema in the world today, has awarded many Egyptian and internationally renowned actors, actresses, and directors. Special awards, such as the Best Arab Film Award, is awarded to the most exceptional regional films of the year.

Major Award Winners
YearBest Film (Golden Pyramid)Best DirectorBest ActorBest Actress
1991
15th
United States The Object of BeautyUnited States Michael Lindsay-Hogg
for The Object of Beauty
Portugal Joaquim de Almeida
for Family Portrait
Germany Christiane Heinrich
for Suspicion
1992
16th
China Those Left BehindUnited Kingdom Michael Apted
for Thunderheart
Denmark Ole Lemmeke
for The Naked Trees
China Xiu Jingshuang
for Those Left Behind
1993
17th
State of PalestineIsraelNetherlandsGermanyFrance CurfewSyria Nabil Maleh
for The Extras
Poland Andrzej Seweryn
for Amok
Russia Marina Neyolova
for You Are My Only One
1994
18th
France Colonel ChabertFrance Yves Angelo
for Colonel Chabert
Egypt Nour El-Sherif
for A Hot Night
Egypt Laila Elwi
for More Love, Less Violence
1995
19th
Philippines The Flor Contemplacion StoryUkraine Sergei Masloboischikov
for Josephine, the Singer and the Mice People
Republic of Ireland Stephen Rea
for Citizen X
Philippines Nora Aunor
for The Flor Contemplacion Story
1996
20th
Egypt A Girl Called AppleGreece Pantelis Voulgaris
for Akropol
Egypt Abu Bakr Ezzat
for The Woman and the Hatchet
Germany Julia Jäger
for Outside Time
1997
21st
FranceItalySpain The Chambermaid on the TitanicSpain Bigas Luna
for The Chambermaid on the Titanic
Bosnia and Herzegovina Davor Janjić
for Outsider
Egypt Reem Al-Turki
for Ceremonial Wedding Dress
1998
22nd
India MalliIndia Santosh Sivan
for Malli
Greece Paschalis Tsarouhas
for Vasiliki
China Mei Ting
for A Time to Remember
1999
23rd
France A Major InconvenienceSlovakia Martin Šulík
for Prague Stories (Segment: "Pictures from the Visit")
Egypt Mahmoud Abdel Aziz
for Pleasure Market
Iran Pegah Ahangarani
for The Girl in the Sneakers
2000
24th
China SighFrance Roch Stéphanik
for Stand-by
China Zhang Guoli
for Sigh
China Xu Fan
for Sigh
France Dominique Blanc
for Stand-by
2001
25th
Belgium Pauline and PauletteRomania Sinișa Dragin
for Everyday God Kisses Us on the Mouth
United Kingdom Paul Freeman
for Morlang
Iran Niki Karimi
for The Hidden Half
2002
26th
Hungary The Last BluesIndia Mrinal Sen
for My Land
Egypt Ahmed Zaki
for His Excellency the Minister
India Nandita Das
for My Land
Iran Katayoun Riahi
for The Last Supper
2003
27th
Greece The KingChina Liang Shan
for The Father
China Song Guofeng
for The Father
France Sandrine Kiberlain &
France Sylvie Testud
for Sole Sisters
2004
28th
Italy Guardians of the CloudsArgentina Héctor Olivera
for Ay Juancito
Argentina Adrián Navarro
for Ay Juancito
Greece Sofocles Peppas
for Dust
Hungary Eszter Bagaméri
for Guarded Secrets
Egypt Nelly Karim
for My Soul Mate
2005
29th[4]
FinlandSweden Mother of MineFinland Klaus Härö
for Mother of Mine
Albania Bujar Lako
for Magic Eye
Sweden Maria Lundqvist
for Mother of Mine
2006
30th[5]
China The RoadIran Khosro Masumi
for Somewhere Too Far
Argentina Nicolás Mateo
for Speed Begets Oblivion
China Zhang Jingchu
for The Road
2007
31st[6]
France Intimate EnemiesFrance Florent Emilio Siri
for Intimate Enemies
France Albert Dupontel
for Intimate Enemies
Mexico Marina Magro
for Opera
Russia Tatyana Lyutaeva
for Full Scope
2008
32nd[7]
Spain Return to HansalaDenmark Pernille Fischer Christensen
for Dancers
Argentina Juan Diego Botto
for El Greco
Belgium Yolande Moreau
for Séraphine
2009
33rd[8]
Finland Letters to Father JacobFrance Mona Achache
for The Hedgehog
Egypt Fathy Abdel Wahab
for The Nile Birds
India Subrat Dutta
for Madholal Keep Walking
Poland Karolina Piechota
for Splinters
2010
34th[9]
Egypt LustBulgaria Svetoslav Ovtcharov
for Voice Over
Egypt Amr Waked &
Italy Alessandro Gassman
for The Father and the Foreigner
France Isabelle Huppert
for Copacabana
Egypt Sawsan Badr
for Lust
2012
35th[10]
SwedenFrance Rendez-vous in KirunaPoland Marian Dziędziel
for The Fifth season of the Year
Venezuela Vanessa Di Quattro
for Breach in the Silence
2014
36th[11]
Iran MelbourneEgypt Khaled Abol Naga
for Eyes of a Thief
France Adèle Haenel
for Love at First Fight
2015
37th
Italy MediterraneaIceland Dagur Kari
for Virgin Mountain
Burkina Faso Koudous Seihon
for Mediterranea
France Louise Bourgoin
for I Am a Soldier
2016
38th
SpainMoroccoFrance MimosasBrazilLicinio Azevedo
for The Train of Salt and Sugar
Morocco Shakib Ben Omar
for Mimosas
Egypt Nahed El Sebai
for A Day for Women
International actors awarded include

Marcello Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, John Malkovich, Elizabeth Taylor, Morgan Freeman, Sivaji Ganesan, Samuel L. Jackson, Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale, Leslie Caron, Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Gina Lollobrigida, Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Ornella Muti, Victoria Abril, Shashi Kapoor, Alain Delon, Nicolas Cage, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Greta Scacchi, Julia Ormond, Mira Sorvino, Khalid Abdalla, Alicia Silverstone, Priscilla Presley, Stuart Townsend, Yolande Moreau, Christopher Lee, Irene Papas, Nora Aunor, Bud Spencer, Tom Berenger, Salma Hayek, Lucy Liu, Juliette Binoche, Dominique Blanc and Charlize Theron.

Internationally renowned directors awarded include

Robert Wise, Elia Kazan, Vanessa Redgrave, Oliver Stone, Roland Joffe, Carlos Saura, Ismail Merchant, Moustapha Akkad, and Michelangelo Antonioni.

Honored people and films include

The CIFF 2004 Best Arab Film Award was given to an Egyptian film, Inas El-Degheidy's 'Searching for Freedom.'

In 2005 the CIFF honored its two star guests, American actor Morgan Freeman and French actress Leslie Caron. There was a screening of American actor and director Clint Eastwood's 'Million Dollar Baby' starring Freeman, Eastwood and Hilary Swank; and American director Vincent Minnelli's classic musical 'An American in Paris' (1951), starring Caron and Gene Kelly. CIFF's other 2005 honorees included Mohamed Mounir and Hanan Turk for their roles in Lebanese director Jocelyne Saab's Dunia (2005 film), a controversial film focusing on censorship and the oppression of women in Egypt. The Syrian American producer and director Moustapha Akkad, who died in a 2005 terrorist attack in Amman, Jordan, was also honored that year. He is best remembered for 'Mohammad, Messenger of God' (1976) (U.S. 'The Message') about the early days of Islam, and for the spine-chilling 'Halloween' movie series.

Cairo Film Connection

The Cairo Film Connection is the latest coproduction platform aiming at maximizing networking to induce coproductions for films originating from the Arab world.

The first year, around 10 projects will be selected by a team of experts. Directors and producers will be invited to the Cairo Film Connection to pitch their projects over a period of 3 days to key industry professionals whether international or from the region.

Circulation of the selected project in Arabic and English as well as, individualized meetings scheduled in advance should maximize exposure of the projects and optimize all the participants experience.

Guests will be carefully selected to cover all stages of development of film production, funding, distribution, marketing, broadcasting, sales, festivals.

In addition to the exposure offered to film-makers during the Cairo Film Connection, the Egyptian Ministry of Culture is offering a special award amounting to $10,000.

References

  1. "The trouble with the Cairo International Film Festival". Daily News Egypt. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  2. "36th Cairo International Film Festival postponed to 2014". Euromed Audiovisuel. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  3. Muhammad Y. Gamal (May 2008). "Egypt's audiovisual translation scene" (PDF). Arab Media & Society: 13. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  4. "Klaus Haro's film, Mother of Mine, wins Golden Pyramid". Screen Daily. 2005-12-13. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  5. "Chinese film defies critics and wins the Golden Pyramid". Daily News Egypt. 2006-12-10. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  6. "French war movie sweeps film festival awards". Daily News Egypt. 2007-12-09. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  7. "Spain and Belgium winners at Cairo film fest". Al Arabiya. 2008-11-29. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  8. "Cairo festival hands main prizes to Letters To Father Jacob and The Hedgehog". Screen Daily. 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  9. "Egypt sweeps top awards at Cairo International Film Festival". Daily News Egypt. 2010-12-10. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  10. "35th Cairo International Film Festival closes on a sad note". Al Ahram. 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  11. "36th Cairo International Film Festival: Iranian film Melbourne wins Best Film". Al Ahram. 2014-11-18. Retrieved 2015-04-29.

External links

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