It was last night that was held The opening ceremony of the 42th Session of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF)in the presence of the largest Egyptian stars, like Yosra, Menna Shalaby, Mahmoud Hemeda, Ilham Chahine, Amina Khalil, Leila Elwy, Mounir Sherif and more than 200 foreign guests, eager to participate in the festival despite the obstacles to the trip imposed by the Pandemic of Covid 19.
Unlike previous years, and as a precaution against contagion, the ceremony, took place in the open air in the garden of the Cairo Opera, where an open projection room which can contain 700 people was built for the occasion. On the other hand, as every year, the decoration of all the reception space and the red carpet was magnificent.
The festival management, in partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Health, has set up sanitary protocols to ensure the security of festival -goers. All members of the festival team and all the accredited journalists were tested against the COVID 19 twenty-four hours before the start of the ceremony. Rapid tests were made, free of charge, available to all the guests, who have all received a kit containing the necessary in masks, hydro alcoholic gels … Unfortunately, we could see that during the ceremony, rare were the guests to wear their masks or respect physical distancing.
To stick to the news, the ceremony started with the projection of a video which shows a closed cinema, with a sign recommending that it be safe at home. Sad black and white images of empty cinemas. Then, we learn that 70,000 rooms, around the world, closed their doors definitively because of the COVID 19. The film industry sector has also accused huge losses, and thousands of people have lost their jobs. What will they become?
Actor Ashraf Abdel Baqi appeared on stage and tried to ask this same question in a somewhat comical way, interacting with a number of stars present, like Ahmed Helmy and Ahmed Al-Sakka, as well as Tamer Hosny, who was invited on stage to present his new song Al-Dunya Filmsurrounded by dancers. A note of gaiety and hope after the dark video !!!
Tamer Hosny and his dancers during the CIFF 42 opening ceremony
After the presentation of the members of the jury of the international competition, chaired by the great Russian director Alexander Sokurov, the producer, screenwriter and president of the CIFF for three years, Mohamed Hefzy gave a speech. He started by thanking singer Tamer Hosny for dedicating his song to the cinema and the festival, stressing that he was able to succeed in cinema and song. He compared it to the legendary Abdel Halim Hafez. This has not pleased the Egyptian public from what we can see on social networks since yesterday. It is obvious that such a comparison did not have to be!
Mohamed Hefzy, President of CIFF 42
Mohamed Hefzy also thanked the Egyptian state for its support, in particular the Ministry of Culture and the Egyptian Ministry of Health, a partner of this special edition and which made a team of 120 people available to the festival. The president of the festival also wanted to thank the media as well as the sponsors of the private sector festival, stressing that without their support, the festival would not have seen the light of day.
Mohamed Hefzy then underlined the importance of the work provided this year by the programming team, which despite the difficult circumstances, was able to select 84 films, some of which are among the most important films of the year. He also praised the efforts made by the team of Cairo Industry Days For the very important support it provides to the independent film industry, stressing that this edition is the richest both in terms of events, and by the financial aid it offers this year and which has reached the sum of 2,60,000 dollars, which will be provided to participating projects so that they can be present in the years to come to CIFF and at other festivals.
Mohamed Hefzy then revealed a video message from the presidents of the three most important film festivals in the world, namely Cannes, Berlin and Venice, welcoming their participation in the opening ceremony, and confirming their happiness to see the CIFF take place in its complete form, praising the challenge that the president of the festival and his team took up to organize this session.
As for the Minister of Culture, she highlighted the importance of the arts, including cinema, which managed for months to be an outlet for peoples, after the pandemic imposed a sudden “house arrest” in the world. Watching movies, listening to music and reading books had become a vital necessity. She added that the fact that the performance halls have reopened and that this 42nd edition of the CIFF is a message of hope and a proof that life will triumph. She also explained that this edition is celebrating the film industry, and its ability to resist the obstacles imposed by the virus, so that the production wheel does not stop, and that the light returns to the cinema after the darkness that has struck the rooms in recent months, an idea brilliantly expressed by the poster of this 42th edition.
Poster of the 42nd edition of CIFF
It was the director Yousry Nasrallah who presented the tribute to the late Italian director Federico Fellini, one of the most prominent directors in the history of cinema. He recalled that four films made by Fellini are scheduled: Cabiria nights (1957), Dolce Vita (1960), 8 ½ (1963) and Spirit Juliette (1965), in addition to an exhibition of photos and the screening of the documentary film Fellini Spirits – Spirit Fellini Directed by Selma Delulio in 2020.
Mona Zaki and her Faten Hamama Prize during the CIFF 42 opening ceremony
Actress Menna Shalaby who had received the Prize for Excellence Faten Hamama in 2019, went on stage to present This year’s winner, her friend Mona Zaki. This one, very moved, said: ” I am very proud that the most important festival in my country has chosen to honor me with a prize bearing the name of the great Faten Hamama, and especially during the same edition where the great screenwriter Wahid Hamed is honored ».
Some were surprised that such a price was awarded to such a young actress. However, despite her young age (44), Mona Zaki played in very important films, like the film Women in Cairo by Yousry Nasrallah. She also played against the great Ahmed Zaki in three films, which in itself is an honor and recognition of her talent, which her friend Menna recalled. Besides, we can note that in the past three years, this award has been awarded to three actresses, Hend Sabry (2018), Menna Shalaby (2019) and Mona Zaki, who are the same age and who have each made a very good career.
The scriptwriter Christopher Hampton and his gold pyramid during the opening ceremony of the CIFF 42
British screenwriter Christopher Hampton was the second to be honored by the festival. Mohamed Hefzy gave him the Golden Pyramid of Recognition for the whole of his work, not only for his contribution to the world cinema, but also for his deep link with Egypt.
Christopher Hampton said that receiving this golden pyramid is a great honor, while specifying that he had started his life in Egypt, since between the age of five and ten, he had resided in Alexandria where his father worked.
He stressed that in reality, his vocation came from his childhood in Alexandria, when an English language teacher asked them to write plays to play them at the end of the school year. He added: ” My first steps were in Egypt, my father was a film fan. He took me to watch movies, and that’s where my love for cinema started … I like this country and I am very happy to be back ».
Wahid Hamed winner of the Golden Pyramid for all of his work when the CIFF 42 is opened
It was the Egyptian director Sherif Arafa, who had received this same prize in 2019, who presented the Golden Pyramid of recognition for the whole of his work to the author and screenwriter Wahid Hamed, welcomed with applause and a lot of emotion, out of respect to his career which lasted 50 years during which he wrote films that are part of the history of cinema and which will last for future generations.
Wahid Hamed, very moved thanked the festival and declared: ” Praise to God again and again to be among you today, and I thank you all. You are the lovers of the cinema that I love and to which I devoted myself. I loved everything I experienced with you, I owe a lot to all those who have held by my side. I thank the late Youssef Sherif Rizkallah, because it was he who took me with him to the Cannes Film Festival for the first time in my life, and I learned a lot from him. I thank the director of the radio, Mustafa Abu Hatab, who taught me the language of the dialogue, and thank you to the great playwright Samir Khafaji for all that he taught me ”.
Hamed continued his speech by declaring: “I worked with respected artists, including Mahmoud Morsi, Amina Rizk, Salah Mansour, Yusra, Mona Zaki and Menna Shalaby. I was dealing with different generations of great artists. I can say that I am satisfied with my career, and therefore very happy with this tribute to the Cairo Festival ».
Before the end of the ceremony, Mohamed Hefzy wanted to honor the young director Sameh Alaa, who won the Palme d’Or with his short film I AM AFRAID TO FORGET YOUR FACEduring the special Cannes 2020 edition, stressing that this event is very important for Egyptian cinema, since it is the first Palme d’Or for an Egyptian film.
Film poster The Father, CIFF 42 opening film
The ceremony ended with the presentation of the opening film: The Father – The Fatherdirected by Florian Zeller, adapted by Christopher Hampton of a play of the same Florian Zeller. At the end of the projection, Egyptian criticisms, said that The Father is an excellent film and will most likely be nominated for at least three or four Oscars, including that of best actor for Anthony Hopkins and even for the Oscar for the best suitable scenario for Christopher Hampton. One of them even said that it is the most beautiful CIFF opening film for several years.
Neïla Driss
