In a few hours, the forty-fifth edition of the Cairo International Film Festival will begin today, Wednesday, November 13, and continue until November 22, 2024, with extensive Arab and international participation and representation at the level of participating films, jury committees. , and attendants.
Opening
The festival administration chose the Palestinian film “Fleeting Dreams” for the opening event as a message of support for Gaza and the Palestinian people, where the work is being shown for the first time.
The film belongs to the category of feature-length documentary works. It was written and directed by Rachid Masharawi, featuring Adel Abu Ayyash, Emilia Masso, Ashraf Barhoum, music by Johan Cortet, and pictures by Duraid Minjem.
The events revolve around the journey of the child “Sami“, 12 years old, together with his uncle and his older cousin, in search of the lost bird, while expanding to refugee camp in the West Bank and to various Palestinian cities, including Bethlehem, Old Jerusalem, and Haifa, where the difficult daily life of Palestinians and its impact on the personalities and their relationships with themselves and others.
194 different films from 72 countries around the world will participate in the festival, including 37 films at the world premiere, as well as red carpet screenings of 16 movies.
The list of films participating in the international competition includes films including the Turkish film “Ayse,” the American film “Blue Sun Palace,” the Hungarian film “January 2”, the Brazilian film “Malu,” and the French film “Meet The. Barbarians.”
The list also includes the Australian film “Memoir of a Snail”, the Tunisian film “Noir Eve”, the Palestinian film “Fleeting Dreams”, the Russian film “Postmarks”, the Japanese film “Snow Drop” , the Egyptian film “Spring”. Has Come Laughing”, the Lebanese film “Mondov”, and the Romanian film “The… New Year That Never Came”, and the Italian “Victoria”.
As for the short film competition, the films include: the Colombian “A Bird Flew,” the Egyptian “Abojodi,” the Palestinian “A Boring Poetic Life,” the Turkish “Almost Definitely Fake,” the Egyptian “A Passing Day,” and the Portuguese “Bad for a Moment.”
The Chinese movie “David,” the Saudi movie “1/2 Journey,” the Egyptian movie “Water Enough to Drown,” the Jordanian “A Visit to the Neighborhood,” the German movie “If We Were Birds,” the Japanese movie “Kawauso,” and the South African film “Love, Your Neighbor,” and the Algerian “Memories of a Sun That Not Born.”
The next session will see the honoring of 3 influential cinematic figures from Egypt and Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely the director Yousry Nasrallah, to whom the festival will give the Golden Pyramid Evaluation Award for Lifetime Achievement, in recognition of what he has given through his rich art. post, from 1982 to now.
In addition to the artist Ahmed Ezz, by giving him the Faten Hamama Award for Excellence, and the Bosnian director Danis Tanovic, Chairman of the International Competition jury.
The festival’s award list includes: Golden Pyramid Award for Best Film in International Competition, Silver Pyramid Award, Bronze Pyramid Award, Naguib Mahfouz Award for Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Actress Awards Best, and the Henry Barakat Award for Best Artistic Contribution.
The list of Horizons of Arab Cinema Awards for feature films also includes: Saad El-Din Wahba Award for Best Arab Film, Salah Abu Seif Award for Best Director, Youssef Sharif Rizkallah Award for Picture -Best Play, and the Awards for Best Play Actor and Actress.
In addition to the International Critics’ Week Special Film Competition awards, which include: the Shadi Abdel Salam Award for Best Film, the Fathi Farag Award and the Special Jury Award. Short Film Competition Awards: which includes the Youssef Chahine Award for Best Short Film, and a Special Jury Award.
There are also awards: Best African Feature Film, FIPRESCI Award, Best Asian Feature Film, Best Documentary Film Award, and this year’s Palestine Film Award.
