The opening ceremony of the 45th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) was held Wednesday evening in the presence of a large group of art stars to celebrate the magic of cinema and support the Palestinian cause and Lebanon.
The opening ceremony began with a Palestinian performance in solidarity with the Palestinian cause. The theatre was covered with a Palestinian scarf, and then the atmosphere was ignited by the performance of the song “Palestinian.”
President of the FestiHussein Fahmy then delivered a speech in which he said: ‘We celebrate during this session, which I am honoured to preside over, which was postponed from last year in solidarity with Gaza, and over the years, the Palestinian cause has been and remains the cause of Egypt because it represents justice and dignity, and from my place here I express my solidarity with our brothers in Palestine and Gaza, and we will not forget our sisters in Lebanon, a country that has been suffering for years and is in a difficult test, and we stand in solidarity with its people.’
Minister of Culture Dr Ahmed Fouad Hano said: ‘From the heart of Cairo, the capital of art, civilisations we meet again in the ocean of creativity at the Cairo Film Festival, which has become a symbol of the seventh art and registered its name in letters of light among international festivals to be among the pioneers, as Egypt is an incubator for talents and here we tell our stories and listen to the human voice through artistic creations from different parts of the world.’
The Minister paid tribute to everyone who left a mark on this festival since its inception until now, from its founder Kamal Al-Mallakh to the great artist Hussein Fahmy, who remains a symbol of high art, his presence in this festival increases enthusiasm and brilliance, and the Cairo Festival will continue to celebrate creativity and renewal, and we all celebrate its magic, and we will make this session a new chapter of renewal for the oldest festival ‘Cairo Film Festival’.
The Cairo Film Festival eulogised the stars who passed away in 2024, and Hussein Fahmy said: “Art is present in trials and crises, and cinema is able to tell stories about people who lived, dreamed and triumphed, and there are people we missed, but their works left an impact on us, and they are Ashraf Abdel Ghafour, Nahid Farid Shawky, Salah Al-Saadny, Essam Al-Shamaa, Atef Bishai, Hassan Youssef and Mostafa Fahmy.”During the ceremony, Hussein Fahmy screened restored films from the classics of Egyptian cinema, including ‘Qasr Al-Shawk’, ‘Ben Al-Qasreen’, ‘Al-Saman and Al-Khareef’, ‘Al-Haram’, ‘Something of Fear’ and others, stressing that the idea of restoration aims to improve the quality and preserve our history and films.
Yasmine Taha Zaki presented the ceremony and said that cinema is one of the most important arts capable of living in all details of life with all its feelings, and there are sweet stories that we enjoy and there are painful and sad stories, so the beauty of cinema lies in seeing stories and bringing us together with all nationalities in front of a charming giant screen, which is what we will see in the activities of the festival in the coming days.
Cairo Film Festival Awards Honours
Minister of Culture Dr Ahmed Fouad Hano and festival president Hussein Fahmy honoured Bosnian director and producer Danis Tanovic, head of the festival’s jury.
Director Yousry Nasrallah was then honoured with the Golden Pyramid Award for Lifetime Achievement, in recognition of what he presented throughout his career. ‘I thank Hussein Fahmy and the minister for nominating me for the award, and Egyptian cinema this year is better in terms of revenues and participation in international festivals, and we are the heritage of cinema because it is our conscience, and I salute my fellow Palestinian filmmakers and thank cinema,’ he said.
The Cairo Festival then honoured Ahmed Ezz with the Faten Hamama Award for Excellence, and he said: ‘About 24 years ago, they gave me a choice between continuing my job and starring in my first film, and I chose to enter the field of acting without the wishes of my parents, while I was filming, the Cairo Festival was running, and I was waiting for an invitation to the Cairo Festival to make my parents happy, and I entered the Red Carpet, no one knew me, and the days passed, and I came to stand here and be honoured with an award named after its owner alone, a prize, and from the Minister of Culture and the star of stars that there is no like him Hussein Fahmy, and unfortunately the honor came and my parents were not present.’
Hussein Fahmy then closed the ceremony by inviting the audience to watch the Palestinian opening film ‘Passing Dreams’ directed by Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi in its world premiere.
The 45th edition of the Cairo Film Festival will feature 190 films from 72 countries and two TV episodes, with 16 red carpet screenings, 37 world premieres, 8 international premieres and 119 screenings for the Middle East and Africa region.
The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) is one of the oldest festivals in the Arab world and Africa and is the only festival in the Arab and African region to be registered under Category A of the International Federation of Producers in Paris (FIAPF).
TunisianMonitorOnline (TMO correspondent Douha Saafi)
