Cairo – Reuters
The Luxor African Film Festival honored Egyptian actor Hussein Fahmi with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the start of the eleventh session that began Friday evening in southern Egypt.
After receiving the honor, Fahmi said: “It is a great thing to have a festival representing African cinema in this big city, Luxor, and we are proud to think of it. Year after year.”
Initially, Algerian actress Bayona, Burkina Faso director Appalin Trey and Egyptian actor Amr Chad were honored by their son Rabi for not attending the ceremony.
Opening Ceremonies After sunset on the banks of the Nile, in the festive atmosphere, with the participation of the Luxor Folk Orchestra, the festival guests moved from their home to the conference hall. Where is the ceremony.
Syed Fouad, the script writer who presided over the festival, said: “The second decade of the festival begins today … I feel the festival has grown and needs bigger moves and more support.”
He added, “This year 40% of the films are shown internationally for the first time, and the show is packed with activities aimed at local audiences, which is a huge support for the festival.”
The session, which runs until March 10, raises the slogan “Rediscover Egypt.” The festival organizes an extended symposium within the program of its activities to discuss how to support and facilitate foreign cinematography in Egypt.
The festival is dedicated to the spirit of Egyptian actress and singer Hota Sultan (1925-2006), Egyptian actor Mahmoud Morsi (1923-2004) and Moroccan director Mohamed Ismail (1951-2021). Also in the session is the name of Senegal director Digibril Diop Mombite.
Of the four competitions, 45 films compete for prizes: a special film competition of ten films, a short film competition of 15 films, a documentary film competition of 11 films, and a diaspora competition for films by resident African directors. Outside the continent, this includes nine images. .
The festival will screen six films outside the official competition in Egypt, Sudan, Uganda and Burkina Faso, as well as five films from the latest Egyptian cinema productions.
In addition to film screenings and seminars, the festival, organized by the Independent Artists Youth Foundation, conducts ten specialized training workshops on movement and acting for the Luxor people, and organizes three different art exhibitions.