As of September 21, Egypt allowed funeral prayers and weddings “in open spaces only”, as well as theatre and film festivals to hold their opening and closing ceremonies in open-air spaces at 50% occupancy capacity, after a six-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A number of festival organizers revealed how they plan to adhere to the decisions.
El Gouna Film Festival
El Gouna Film Festival 4th edition will kick off from October 23 to 31, in El Gouna Resort-town, Red Sea governorate.
Director Amir Ramses, GFF artistic director, Amir Ramses, stated the festival commitment to all the decisions of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli regarding holding the opening and closing ceremonies in an open place.
Ramses noted that they equipped a hall for that purpose, which also applies the principle of social distancing.
“As for the second decision regarding the hall occupancy rate does not exceed 50%, the festival resorts will screen films three times instead of twice to spread the attendance and fully adhere to the capacity ratio that has been set,” he added.
Ramses continued: “There are also some measures taken to eliminate gatherings to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, and perhaps the most prominent is the providing a mobile application to book the movies instead of the box office,”.
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Celebrities at El Gouna Film Festival[/caption]
Luxor African Film Festival
Scriptwriter Sayed Fouad, president of the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF), expressed his happiness with Madbouli's decision to return the festivals, which means the return of cinematic and tourist life as well.
Sayed stated that the PM's decisions regarding the resumption of festivals are normal, in light of the difficult conditions the country is facing due to the novel coronavirus.
He noted that the festival management is fully committed to implementing these decisions that are almost in line with the plan that it has drawn up before, especially since the festival mainly holds the opening and closing ceremonies in the Karnak Temple, which is an open place as Madbouli's decision stated, therefore, this does not represent a hindrance for the festival.
“As for the second decision regarding the hall occupancy rate, which states that it does exceed 50% occupancy capacity, we are also committed to it, especially as we seek to screen films more than once to implement the principle of social distancing, wearing masks, and to fully adhere to all precautions,” Sayed added.
The Luxor African Film Festival Cinema will take place from March 12th through March 18th, 2021.
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The opening ceremony of LAFF 9th edition[/caption]
Cairo and Aswan Film Festivals
Critic Andrew Mohsen, Artistic Director of the Aswan International Women Film Festival and the director of Cinema of Tomorrow Short Film Competition, stated that the festival is committed to all the decisions of the PM.
He added: “There is no final there are no final decisions regarding the plan that the festival will put in place to implement these decisions to date; we are still in the study stage and brainstorming between more than one opinion,”.
“As for the Cairo International Film Festival, the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies has not been determined, as there are opinions saying that it is better to look for a place outside the opera, while others believe that an open space can be prepared inside the opera,” Mohsen noted.
He pointed out that there is a study to present Aswan International Women Film opening and closing ceremonies in an archaeological place, but negotiations are continuing.
Talking about the capacity, Mohsen stated that there is an intention to increase the screening of films more than twice so that the prime minister’s decision can be implemented.
The Cairo International Film Festival 42nd edition is due to take place Nov 19-28.
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