This year's Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) didn't disappoint. Now the lone major Egyptian festival, after competing El Gouna was postponed -- some say indefinitely -- this year, CIFF brought great Arab cinema as well as indie gems to the movie-hungry audiences of the Egyptian capital.
Held mostly inside the grounds of the Opera House, with some screenings being held at the iconic Tahrir Cultural Center, within the AUC Tahrir Square Campus, the festival was first class, all the way through to the choices made by both the juries and the audience at awards night.
Top winner of the International Competition, the Palestinian film Alam by Firas Khoury secured the Golden Pyramid Award for Best Film, while the Silver Pyramid Special Jury Award for Best Director went to Love according do Dalva by French filmmaker Emmanuelle Nicot, with the Bronze Pyramid Award for Best First/Second Work awarded to Polish filmmaker Damian Kocur for his haunting Bread and Salt, his first feature film.
The Jury, led by Japanese helmer Naomi Kawase awarded the Naguib Mahfouz Award for Best Screenplay to the film A man by fellow Japanese filmmaker Kei Ishikawa (written by Kosuke Mukai).
Palestinian actor Mahmoud Bakri, who stars in Alam and is the youngest hailing from the legendary Bakri acting family, ended up sharing the Best Actor Award with Maher Elkheir from Sudanese title The Dam by the Lebanese multimedia artist Ali Cherri. Firas Khoury's Alam, a gentle coming of age while living under occupation story that premiered at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, also secured the much-coveted Audience Award -- always a meter of what cinema fans really wish to watch.
It is particularly poignant that a Palestinian film be chosen for top awards in Cairo as seldom Palestinian artists are allowed into the country. This was the case for Khoury as well, who holds an Israeli passport and wasn't granted permission to enter Egypt to attend the festival.
In the festival's Horizons of New Arab Cinema Competition, the Saad Eldin Wahba Award for Best Arabic Film was given to Mother Valley by Carlos Chahine, while the Salah Abu Seif Award the Special Jury Award went to Riverbed by Bassem Breche. Sherief Elkatsha's stunning documentary Far from the Nile was awarded the Best Non-Fiction film Award.
The Fipresci prize, awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics, went to the Egyptian 19B by Ahmad Abdalla, which also collected the Best Arab Film Award worth US $10,000 presented to the its producer.
Find below the complete list of prizes:
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
The Golden Pyramid Award for Best Film
Alam by Firas Khoury
The Silver Pyramid, Special Jury Award, for Best Director
Love according do Dalva by Emmanuelle Nicot
The Bronze Pyramid Award for Best First/Second Work
Bread and Salt by Damian Kocur
Naguib Mahfouz Award for Best Screenplay
A man by Kei Ishikawa (kosuki mukai)
Best Actor Award (split for two actors)
The dam by Ali Cheri (actor Maher Elkheir)
&
Alam by Firas Khoury (actor Mahmoud bakri )
Best Actress Award
Love according do Dalva by Emmanuelle Nicot (actress Zelda Samson)
Henry Barakat Award for Best Artistic Contribution
19B by Ahmad Abdalla (cinematographer Mostafa Elkashef)
THE HORIZONS OF NEW ARAB CINEMA COMPETITION AWARDS
Saad Eldin Wahba Award for Best Arabic Film
Mother Valley by Carlos Chahine
Salah Abu Seif Award the Special Jury Award
Riverbed by Bassem Breche
Best Non-Fiction film Award
Far from the Nile by Sherief Elkatsha
Best Acting performance Award
Riverbed by Bassem Breche (actress Carole Abboud)
Special Mentions
I'm coming Home by Yassine Redissi
Houria by Mounia Meddour (to lead actress Lyna Khoudri)
INTERNATIONAL CRITICS’ WEEK COMPETITION AWARDS
Shadi Abdel Salam Award for Best Film, awarded to the director
Pamfir by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk
Fathy Farag Award for Best Artistic Contribution
Joyland by Saim Sadiq
Special Mention
Victim by Michal Blasko
SHORT FILM COMPETITION AWARDS
Youssef Chahine Award for Best Short Film
Rosemary A.D. (After Dad) by Ethan Bakhret
The Special Jury Award
My Girlfriend by Kawthar Younis
Special Mention
One Fucking Wish by Piotr Jasiński
Best Arab Film Award: 10,000$
Best Arab Film
19B by Ahmad Abdalla
Presented to the producer of the film. The Award will be granted by a special jury to the best Arab film selected in either the International Competition.
Special Mention
Riverbed by Bassem Breche
THE INT'L FEDERATION OF FILM CRITICS
Fipresci
19B by Ahmad Abdalla
The FIPRESCI Award was decided by a jury comprised of a president and two members, and will be awarded to a film in the international competition.
Audience Award
Alam by Firas Khoury
