The Cairo International Film Festival announced the amendment of the date of its 42nd session, to be held from 2 to 10 December next, in order to ensure the presentation of a safer and more successful session, in accordance with the health procedures and measures approved by the Egyptian government and the World Health Organization.
According to the new festival dates, the third edition of the “Cairo Film Industry Days” platform will be organized during the period from 4 to 7 December, provided that the activities of the “Cairo Film Forum” will be held between the 5th and 7th of the same month.
Festival president Mohamed Hefzy says that the “Cairo Film” team is happy and excited to present a distinguished artistic program in the 42nd session, in addition to holding “Cairo Film Industry Days” to play its role in supporting the industry facing the challenges and difficulties imposed by the Coronavirus around the world.
He stressed that over the past period he did not lose hope that the festival will be held this year in its usual way, especially after the recent success of a number of major film festivals in organizing safe, healthy and artistically distinguished courses such as (Venice, Toronto, and San Sebastian), which increased confidence. In the ability of the festivals industry to continue its mission of spreading awareness and culture.
The festival president was keen to thank the Egyptian government for its efforts to restore life to normal, in a way that surpassed its counterparts from countries affected by the Coronavirus, stressing the commitment of “Cairo Film” to all health and safety standards, to limit the spread of the virus, in coordination with the relevant authorities in the state.
The festival’s executive director, Omar Qassem, confirmed that there is a strict system that will be implemented by a specialized team during the activities of the 42nd session, to ensure that all attendees adhere to precautionary measures, social distancing, and wear masks, especially in closed places such as the halls of the Egyptian Opera House (where most of the activities are held), and temperature measurement As well as sterilization of all cinemas and halls after each show, and a comprehensive medical examination on a daily basis for all festival organizers and guests.
During the last period, the Cairo Festival began unveiling some of the activities of the 42nd session, in which the great Egyptian writer Waheed Hamed was honored with the Golden Pyramid Appreciation Award for his overall work, including the participation of two Egyptian films in the international competition: The documentary “Long Live Captain” directed by Mai Zayed, and the novelist “Curfew” directed by Amir Ramses.
The Cairo International Film Festival is one of the oldest festivals in the Arab world and Africa and the most regular, and is unique in that it is the only festival in the Arab region and Africa to be rated A by the International Federation of Producers (FIAPF), with 14 other festivals organizing international competitions.
TunisianMonitorOnline
