Inga Litvinsky Supports Aswan International Women’s Film Festival with Film Independent Workshops

Written by: Manal Al-Gyoushi

Inga Litvinsky, Deputy Cultural Attaché at the US Embassy in Cairo, said that she participated to support the 8th Aswan International Women’s Film Festival by partnering with Film Independent, a company based in Los Angeles, to provide workshops, called creative production workshops, for 15 of them young Egyptian filmmakers based in Egypt.

Litvinsky confirmed in a statement to Masrawy that the young people had been selected through special tests, and that two American film producers had been teaching workshops in the past four days on how to develop films to the production stage. .
She revealed that she had the opportunity to listen to some of the ideas of the filmmakers who were participating in the workshop, stressing that their ideas influenced her.

She explained that there are four film directors and 11 female directors, most of them from Upper Egypt, Aswan and other cities in Upper Egypt, noting that the aim of the embassy is young filmmakers at is telling stories to connect with more familiar American film directors. and producers, to help them develop their skills, and to be able to take the next step and produce their films, so that they can be seen by the public
Regarding her opinion that the Aswan Festival is the only festival that supports women, she said: It is important and wonderful to have an international film festival in Aswan that showcases the talents of women and men. making films that tell stories about women’s issues.
She said that the embassy promotes the festival because it is part of the embassy’s goals, which is the inclusion and representation of groups whose voices cannot be heard.

She emphasized that she would like to support women’s film work throughout Egypt, but especially outside of Cairo and Alexandria.

She pointed out that there are some commonalities between women’s issues in the United States and Egypt, especially in terms of the ability to care and raise a family and maintain their work life as well and Egypt for someone trying to prove it find recognition and be able to reconcile his life.
She continued: “I see these common problems, but I think there is an additional element in some of the more conservative families, who live in traditional roles as opposed to stepping out of those positions and doing something different, and this is an additional element. that I saw a lot here in Egypt.”
Inga also spoke about her female role model, and said that many women in the United States consider the former Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a role model and she supports women’s rights from many years ago.
She said that she talks to Egyptian women in Upper Egypt or in Cairo, and that she finds out that it is very good to access resources and find mentors.
She said: “And that’s why I think what we’re doing is we’ve brought two advisers here, one of them is African-American, Avril Speaks and representative Kelly Thomas , so we made sure to link up with the filmmakers here to give it a go. guide and be a role model for more filmmakers.”
She concluded her speech on the concept of the rights that American women want, saying: “​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ -same opportunities as their male counterparts.”