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CAIRO FILM FESTIVAL ADDS DAVID CRONENBERG, JEAN-LUC GODARD TITLES TO LINEUP
Hollywood Reporter
October 22, 2014 Wednesday
by Alex Ritman
Maps to the Starsand Goodbye to Languagehave been added to the lineup
for the upcoming Cairo International Film Festival, which is set to
run Nov. 9-18.
The David Cronenberg and Jean-Luc Godard titles join an international
list of films, including John Boorman's Queen and Country and Diplomacy
from Volker Schlondorff.
The festival is due to kick off with The Cut, Fatih Akin's drama
about the 1915 Armenian genocide that stars Tahar Rahim.
Having been canceled in 2013 and in 2011because of Egypt's two major
revolutions and largely seen to have fallen by the wayside as compared
to other, newer regional festivals such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the
Cairo International Film Festival, now putting on its 36th installment,
is seen as experiencing something of a reinvigoration.
Last year, it appointed veteran Egyptian film critic Samir Farid as
director, and he immediately brought in acclaimed local directors
Yousry Nasrallah and Ahmad Abdallah to the festival's board, also
forming a festival team made up of young filmmakers and critics. The
response from the region has largely been one of enthusiasm and
optimism about the festival's return.
"Samir Farid has got a great team of young people who come from
different backgrounds and add a lot, helping make the festival more
diverse and more organized," Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzytold
The Hollywood Reporter. Hefzy was behind the recent Egyptian hit
Excuse My French, which recently screened at the BFI London Film
Festival. "I think the programming is going to be fantastic. They're
great programmers, they love film, they're hungry," he adds.
Among the regional films appearing at the festival will be Palestine's
Oscar entry, Eyes of a Thief, directed by Najwa Najjar and starring
Egyptian actor Khaled Abol Naga. Both are set to attend.
"What I appreciate most about the revival of the Cairo Film Festival
is that in spit of all the political changes and upheavals, culture
and cinema survives in the country which pioneered and advanced cinema
throughout the Arab world," said Najjar, also pointing to the fact
that the festival is only one in the whole of Africa and the Middle
East to be accredited by FIAPF.
From: Baghdasarian
Hollywood Reporter
October 22, 2014 Wednesday
by Alex Ritman
Maps to the Starsand Goodbye to Languagehave been added to the lineup
for the upcoming Cairo International Film Festival, which is set to
run Nov. 9-18.
The David Cronenberg and Jean-Luc Godard titles join an international
list of films, including John Boorman's Queen and Country and Diplomacy
from Volker Schlondorff.
The festival is due to kick off with The Cut, Fatih Akin's drama
about the 1915 Armenian genocide that stars Tahar Rahim.
Having been canceled in 2013 and in 2011because of Egypt's two major
revolutions and largely seen to have fallen by the wayside as compared
to other, newer regional festivals such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the
Cairo International Film Festival, now putting on its 36th installment,
is seen as experiencing something of a reinvigoration.
Last year, it appointed veteran Egyptian film critic Samir Farid as
director, and he immediately brought in acclaimed local directors
Yousry Nasrallah and Ahmad Abdallah to the festival's board, also
forming a festival team made up of young filmmakers and critics. The
response from the region has largely been one of enthusiasm and
optimism about the festival's return.
"Samir Farid has got a great team of young people who come from
different backgrounds and add a lot, helping make the festival more
diverse and more organized," Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzytold
The Hollywood Reporter. Hefzy was behind the recent Egyptian hit
Excuse My French, which recently screened at the BFI London Film
Festival. "I think the programming is going to be fantastic. They're
great programmers, they love film, they're hungry," he adds.
Among the regional films appearing at the festival will be Palestine's
Oscar entry, Eyes of a Thief, directed by Najwa Najjar and starring
Egyptian actor Khaled Abol Naga. Both are set to attend.
"What I appreciate most about the revival of the Cairo Film Festival
is that in spit of all the political changes and upheavals, culture
and cinema survives in the country which pioneered and advanced cinema
throughout the Arab world," said Najjar, also pointing to the fact
that the festival is only one in the whole of Africa and the Middle
East to be accredited by FIAPF.
From: Baghdasarian