The recently appointed President of Cairo International Film Festival, beloved Egyptian superstar Hussein Fahmy, confirmed that helmer Kamla Abou Zekry will be this year's recipient of the coveted Faten Hamama Excellence Award. He commented that the Festival is presenting the award to Abou Zekry in recognition of her repertoire of iconic work which has had an indelible influence on the filmmaking industry throughout her long-standing career. Although still very young, Abou Zekry is a television and film director who has directed such well-known movies and TV series as Bent Esmaha Zaat, Segn El Nisaa, and Wahed Sefr.
This past Ramadan her series titled Betlo’ El-Roh starred Elham Shaheen, along with Menna Shalaby, Ahmed Salah El-Saadany, Mohamed Hatem, and Ayman Azab was among the most anticipated of the season -- and during a time when there is no lack of great television! Betlo' El-Roh highlighted the daily struggles faced by women in the ISIS community and featured Shalaby in a still from the series, wearing a niqab.
Earlier in her career, Abou Zekry worked as the assistant director of filmmaker Nader Galal in several films, including 131 Ashghal (1993), featuring Nour El Sherif; Hello America starring Adel Emam, and Belia wa Demagho el Alia, starring Mohamed Heneidy in 2000.
In the fall of 2021, Abou Zekry served as President of the Short Films Jury in El Gouna with MIME's own E. Nina Rothe, along with Moroccan actress Nadia Kounda, French film programmer Alice Kharoubi and Egyptian helmer Tamer Ashry.
The award carries the name of beloved star Faten Hamama who is known as the Lady of Egyptian cinema. Abou Zekry said that she was thrilled to learn the news of receiving the award carrying her name. She also thanked the Festival for choosing her among CIFF’s honorees for its upcoming 44th edition.
