24rd Alexandria International Film Festival 2008

Genre : Festival | Aleandrie

From tuesday 26 to saturday 30 august 2008

Times : 00:00
Principal country concerned : Column : Cinema/tv

The 24th Alexandria International Film Festival (AIFF) opens August 26 through 30 with 80 movies from different parts of the world competing.

Syria is this year's AIFF guest of honor; Damascus has been chosen by UNESCO to be the Arab Capital of Culture. 4 movies will be shown mapping out important stages in the history of Syrian cinema. A number of Syrian movie celebrities including Mona Wassef, Bassam Kussa, Salma al-Masri, Asa'ad Fedha and critic Mohammad al-Ahmar will be honored.

The 24th AIIF is dedicated to the memory of Egyptian legend director Youssef Chahin. A documentary will be screened at the opening ceremony marking his achievements.

The Chahin honor ceremony hosts some of his favorite stars including Omar Sharif, Yusra, Hussein Fahmy, Ezzat al-Alyli, Nadya Lotfi and director Khaled Youssef.

Two seminars will be held this year. The first, entitled "The Master", in memory of Youssef Chahin, takes place on August 27. The second, entitled "The Space Channels and Egyptian Film Heritage", which seeks to protect what is left of the old Egyptian movies, takes place on August 28.

The 24th AIIF also celebrates the Golden Jubilee of Moroccan cinema. In addition to the screening of 10 films, tribute will be paid to Moroccan Minister of Culture Thuraya Jubran, the first actress in the Arab world to become a cabinet minister.

Festival films will be shown on giant screens at public parks two days before the opening ceremony.


Sections

Competition
11 Mediterranean countries have entries competing in the official competition. They are:
Albania
Algeria
Egypt
France
Greece
Italy
Lebanon
Morocco
Slovenia
Spain
Turkey

Panorama of Syrian cinema
4 Syrian movies are to be shown in this section.

Panorama of Moroccan cinema
A number of movies will be shown to mark the Golden Jubilee of Moroccan cinema.

Overview of Asian cinema
14 movies will be shown representing:
Bahrain
China
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Lebanon
Malaysia
Philippines, The
Singapore
Syria
Thailand
Turkey
Uzbekistan


Juries

The Official Competition
Chief jurist
Marco Onorato (director of photography) - Italy

Members
Maniga Hikmet (directress) - Iran
Mohammad al-Ahmad (critic) Syria
Ilham Shahin (actress) - Egypt
Mahmoud Kabeel (actor) - Egypt
Maria Subanki (actress) - Greece
Françoise Brion (actor) - France

Digital Film Competition
Chief jurist
Kawsar Heikal

Members
Ibrahim al-Batout (director) - Egypt
Yasser Moheb (critic) - Egypt

AWARDS 2008
Actress Laila Elwe secured the Best Actress Award for her role in the film of "Alwan as-Sama as-Sabaa" (The Colors of the Seventh Sky) at Alexandria International Film Festival.
The Best Actor Award went to Ahmed Helmi for his role in the film of "Assef ala el-Ezaag" (Sorry for Annoyance!)
Director Khaled Youssef and Director Yousri Nasrallah co-shared the Best Director Award for their films "Al-Rayyes Omar Harb" and "Geneinet al-Asmak".
Actor Adel Imam won the Special Excellence Certificate for his role in the film of Hassan and Morqos.



Articles

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Partners

  • Arterial network
  • Media, Sports and Entertainment Group (MSE)
  • Gens de la Caraïbe
  • Groupe 30 Afrique
  • Alliance Française VANUATU
  • PACIFIC ARTS ALLIANCE
  • FURTHER ARTS
  • Zimbabwe : Culture Fund Of Zimbabwe Trust
  • RDC : Groupe TACCEMS
  • Rwanda : Positive Production
  • Togo : Kadam Kadam
  • Niger : ONG Culture Art Humanité
  • Collectif 2004 Images
  • Africultures Burkina-Faso
  • Bénincultures / Editions Plurielles
  • Africiné
  • Afrilivres

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