The management of the annual Film Society Festival for Egyptian Cinema announced the film lineup that will be screened during the Golden Jubilee edition.
The festival is held from June 1-9 at the Artistic Creativity Center, Cairo Opera House under the slogan "Long Live the Spirit of Resistance... Long Live Palestine".
Among 368 Egyptian, Arab, and foreign films screened during 2023 in Egyptian cinemas, 5 Egyptian films were chosen out of 42 through the general referendum of critics, filmmakers, and Film Society members to select the best 8 films screened last year.
The selected films, according to their release dates in Egyptian cinemas, are as follows:
Ahmed Abdullah El-Sayed's "19 B", Peter Mimi's "Ruby House", Waleed El-Halfawy's "Face to Face", and Omar Helal's "Voy! Voy! Voy!".
The filmmakers of these works will compete for multiple awards, including: the best actor and actress in first and second roles, the best décor, photography, montage, mixing, makeup, soundtrack, poster, and visual effects.
Amr Salama's "Fireworks" will be screened out of competition.
The watching committee consists of film director Hany Lasheen (as head), along with Dean of the Higher Institute of Art Criticism at the Academy of Arts, Dr. Rania Yahia, Editing Professor at the Cinema Institute, film editor Dr. Rahma Montasser, film critic Tarek El-Shennawi, film director Adel El-Aasar, chairman of Union of Artistic Syndicates, film director Omar Abd El-Aziz, President of the Academy of Arts, Dr. Ghada Jbara, film critic Magda Khairallah, Magda Morris, director of photography and film director Dr. Mohsen Ahmed, cinema decorator and Professor of Decor at the Cinema Institute Dr. Mahmoud Mohsen, sound engineer Magdy Kamel, and film critic Walid Seif.
On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee, the festival will present three Arab films among the 14 films screened in Egyptian cinemas; Maha Haj's "Mediterranean Fever", produced by Palestine, Qatar, Cyprus, Germany and France, Firas Khoury's "Alam", produced by Palestine, Tunisia, and France, and Mohamed Kordofani's "Goodbye Julia", co-produced by Sudan, Germany, Egypt, Sweden, and KSA.
These films will be screened during the festival. Additionally, each film will be followed by a symposium for its team.
These symposiums are regarded as one of the pillars of the Film Society and its educational role. The Best Foreign Film Award is back again after it stopped since the 26th edition.
Last year, about 300 foreign films from different nationalities were screened in Egyptian cinemas.
The festival is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Cultural Development Fund, Cairo Opera House, Cinematic Professions Syndicate, National Center of Cinema, Fine Art Sector, and the Academy of Arts.
It is regarded as one of the most prestigious and prominent Egyptian film festivals, as well as Egyptian local festivals.
Its juries include an elite group of filmmakers. It also focuses on the artistic value of participating films.
The festival’s members select films from those presented during previous years. The best films are selected through a general referendum of critics, filmmakers, and Film Society members from films screened throughout the year.
Additionally, it is the only festival that has been held on a regular basis over several years. It hasn’t been postponed since its inauguration by the Film Society at the hand of critics, filmmakers, and the society’s current -and past- board of directors.
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