CIFF supports Arab Cinema in its 45th edition25 thousand Dollars offered for the first time to 5 awards, with all the participating films allowed to compete

BY Ahmed Fawzy

The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) announced its strong support to Arab Cinema both financially and artistically, in addition to expanding participation among film makers during the upcoming 45th edition of the festival which will be held from the 13th to the 22nd of November.
This year, all Arab films participating in the various competitions and categories have the chance to compete for the Horizons of Arab Cinema Awards, with cash prizes amounting to 25 thousand US dollars in five categories namely: the Best Film Award, the Best Director Award, the Best Screenplay Award, as well as two Awards for Best Female and Male Actors in a show of support by this longstanding festival to Arab film makers whose participation and influence in different cinematic events around the world has been on the rise, in addition to the festival’s keenness on

encouraging these creative voices.

President of CIFF, actor Hussein Fahmy, stated that “we are keen on providing ample space to support all the cinematic work and talents in the Arab World, whether by showcasing these films through the extensive screening of films in the different categories, or through the Cairo Cinema Forum that has been supporting dozens of films in the last few years”.
Fahmy added, “Arab Cinema is currently witnessing a huge development, with the production of high-quality films coinciding with the great advances in cinema-related technology that is currently taking shape in the Arab World. We also have great ideas, amazing script writers, outstanding artists including directors, actors, and directors of photography who are all worthy of the attention of the organizers of CIFF.”
Critic Essam Zakarea, director of CIFF, stated that this year’s edition will be throwing more light on Arab Cinema as , as well as handing out additional awards that will include the Horizons of Arab Cinema Awards with the participation of all Arab films taking part in other categories of the festival whether in the International Competition, or the International Critics Week Competition , thus giving everyone a fair chance of competition and evaluation. This approach further boosts increasing the number of awards presented by the Jury to become five awards in five categories.
Zakarea also pinpointed the great geographic diversity in Arab Cinema Production that will be displayed on the Festival’s Screens thus offering a rich experience for the audiences as well as giving room for more participation.