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Malmö Arab Film Festival (MAFF) announced on Monday, April 3rd that Egyptian star Hussein Fahmy will be honored with a lifetime achievement award, which he will receive during the opening ceremony of the 13th edition of the festival. This year the festival will be held from April 28th to May 4th, 2023. The opening night event will be held inside the Royal Hall (Rådhus) under the auspices of the City of Malmö and in the presence of its Mayor. Fahmy will also give a masterclass during the festival, which will be held inside Malmö's city library.
Hussein Fahmy has enjoyed a tremendous artistic career that extends for more than half a century, from the time he played his first role in the movie “Dalal Al-Masria” directed by Hassan El-Imam in 1970 until his most recent role in the series “Serroh Al-Batie” directed by Khaled Youssef. The latter was shown during the current month of Ramadan.
Throughout his career, Fahmy has acted in more than two hundred films, series, plays, and radio works, and worked with the most renowned directors of Egyptian cinema, such as Youssef Chahine, Kamal Al-Sheikh, Henry Barakat, Mohamed Khan, and others. This has been in addition to holding various cultural positions, including the presidency of the Cairo International Film Festival for two terms, the first between 1998 and 2001, and the second started in 2022 which continues to this day.
The founder and director of the Malmö Festival, Muhammad Keblawi, commented on the tribute, saying: “Tributes are not a compulsory annual tradition at MAFF. It is not only related to the presence of a great star or director in the city, but the festival is offering tributes only when those who deserve it attend. This year we are pleased with the presence of a living cinematic legend: Hussein Fahmy, who created a place in the memory of every viewer of Arab cinema and TV”.
The masterclass will be held inside the Malmö City Library on Sunday, April 30th, at 3 p.m. and the discussion will be moderated by critic Ahmed Shawky, who in 2022 published the book titled Hussein Fahmy: The Biography of Egyptian Cinema in Half a Century.
For his part, Fahmy expressed his joy at receiving this award, stressing his appreciation for the contributions of MAFF to Arab cinema during the past few years. The star also said he is looking forward to meeting the audience of Malmö and talking to them about his career.
More all information about MAFF, check out their website.
Header photo courtesy of MAFF, used with permission.
