Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Ismailia International Film Festival Concludes its Events


Sat 20 Apr 2019 | 06:57 AM
maydaa nadar

With the presence of more than 300 guests, the Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts concluded its events in Egypt.

Throughout the 1 week event, around 51 countries screened about 150 documentaries and films.

The closing ceremony was attended by several remarkable figures including the festival's Director and film critic Essam Zakaria, the Minister of Culture's Councillor for Cinema Affairs and Director of the National Center for Cinema Khaled Abdel Galil,  and Ismailia's Governer Hamdi Osman.

The Students' Film Competition

16 films competed at the Students' Film Competition, out of which the narrative short The Crow of Separation for Ahmed Dahhroug, documentaries Beyond our Memory for Donia Sallam and Being in Seventh Heaven for Christeen Hanna were awarded.

The Egyptian Animation Society's Awards

Out of 12 films from 18 countries, the Egyptian Animation Society awarded the prize of the Excellence Artistic to the 5-minute Polish Animation the Tango of Longing for Marta Szymańska, while that of the Best Animation was given to the 9-minute Swiss Kids for Michael Frei.

[caption id="attachment_46480" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Animation the Tango of Longing  Animation the Tango of Longing[/caption]

Egyptian Director Amal Ramses Was Awarded Twice

After watching 17 films from Egypt, Morroco, Gambia, Congo, Nigeria, Chad, Burkina Faso, and South Africa, the African Federation of Film Critics handed-out the Best African Film award to the Egyptian long documentary You Come from Faraway for Amal Ramses.

[caption id="attachment_46483" align="aligncenter" width="500"]Amal Ramses Awarded Twice for her Long Documentary You Come from Faraway Amal Ramses Awarded Twice for her Long Documentary You Come from Faraway [/caption]

This was not the only topnotch award that Ramses received for her documentary, as the film was also given the International Federation of Film Critics' prize.

The Fiction and Animation Committee's Awards

Moving to the festival's official awards, the Fiction and Animation Committee pided the prizes according to the following categories: animation and short fictions.

Regarding the animation section, the Tango of Longing was awarded, while the Kids received the Best Film.

[caption id="attachment_46481" align="aligncenter" width="500"]Tango of Longing 5-Minute Animation the Tango of Longing[/caption]

The Mexican Ambassador to Egypt José Octavio Tripp received the Best Short Fiction award, on behalf of Ángeles Cruz for her film Arcángel.

[caption id="attachment_46479" align="aligncenter" width="500"]Mexican Ambassador to Egypt José Octavio Tripp Mexican Ambassador to Egypt José Octavio Tripp[/caption]

Bangladeshi short fiction Fish Monologue for Suborna Senjutee Tushee was also awarded, and Philippines' A Country in Moving Pictures for Arjanmar Rebeta was honored.

[caption id="attachment_46478" align="aligncenter" width="400"]Suborna Senjutee Tushee Suborna Senjutee Tushee [/caption]

Prizes of the  Documentaries' Committee

The Documentaries' Committee gave handed-out the Best Short Documentary to Kyrgistani Faraway, directed by Begim Zholdubai kyzy. Egypt's White Hell for Ahmed Assem, Mahmoud Khaled and Omar Shash was awarded. Belarusian Quiet Street for Aliksandra Markava Belarus was honored.

Egypt's Where Did Ramses Go? for Amr Bayoumi won the Best Long Documentary. Portugal's Blue Breath Directed by Rodrigo Areias was awarded, Ukraine's Michel and Daniel, for Andrei Zagdansky, was honored.

[caption id="attachment_46482" align="aligncenter" width="400"]Egyptian Director Amr Bayoumi Egyptian Director Amr Bayoumi[/caption]