Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff) co-production platform event meted out $100,000 worth of prizes.
Egyptian director Sherif El Bendary’s female suppression drama Spray and Iraqi director Koutaiba Al-Janabi’s experimental thriller The Woodman shared the top $20,000 Badya prize at the fifth edition of the Cairo Film Connection, running Nov 26-28.
The co-production platform, at the heart of the Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff) industry programme (Nov 20-29), showcased 16 projects from across the Arab world, 10 in development and six in post-production.
The winners were representative of the increasingly adventurous and diverse stories and styles emerging out of the Arab world’s burgeoning indie film scene.
Egyptian director Sherif El Bendary’s female suppression drama Spray and Iraqi director Koutaiba Al-Janabi’s experimental thriller The Woodman shared the top $20,000 Badya prize at the fifth edition of the Cairo Film Connection, running Nov 26-28.
The co-production platform, at the heart of the Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff) industry programme (Nov 20-29), showcased 16 projects from across the Arab world, 10 in development and six in post-production.
The winners were representative of the increasingly adventurous and diverse stories and styles emerging out of the Arab world’s burgeoning indie film scene.
- 11/30/2018
- ScreenDaily
Lebanese filmmaker Eliane Raheb’s The Great Family and Algeria Is Still Far Away, from Algerian-French filmmaker Omar Haffaf, shared the $25,000 top prize at Dubai Film Connection (Dfc) yesterday.
“We were dazzled by the quality of the 13 projects. It was a difficult process. There is such diversity in these films,” said jury member Mike Goodridge, CEO of the UK’s Protagonist Pictures. He was joined on the jury by Misr International Films’ Gabriel Khoury and Tribeca Film Institute’s Molly O’Keefe.
The Great Family follows an adopted French woman as she investigates her roots after discovering she may be the daughter of Palestinian refugees. In Algeria Is Still Far Away, Haffaf explores his native country through the prism of Chinese immigrants.
The $10,000 Cinescape/Front Row Award went to Iraqi director Mohanad Hayal’s drama Haifa Street set against the backdrop of an infamous sniper-infested neighbourhood in Baghdad.
The $10,000 Art Award went to Jordanian director Darin J. Sallam...
“We were dazzled by the quality of the 13 projects. It was a difficult process. There is such diversity in these films,” said jury member Mike Goodridge, CEO of the UK’s Protagonist Pictures. He was joined on the jury by Misr International Films’ Gabriel Khoury and Tribeca Film Institute’s Molly O’Keefe.
The Great Family follows an adopted French woman as she investigates her roots after discovering she may be the daughter of Palestinian refugees. In Algeria Is Still Far Away, Haffaf explores his native country through the prism of Chinese immigrants.
The $10,000 Cinescape/Front Row Award went to Iraqi director Mohanad Hayal’s drama Haifa Street set against the backdrop of an infamous sniper-infested neighbourhood in Baghdad.
The $10,000 Art Award went to Jordanian director Darin J. Sallam...
- 12/11/2016
- ScreenDaily
Venice International Film Festival
Misr International Films
VENICE, Italy -- The French and Egyptian co-production Chaos aspires to relate the difficulties of socially deprived citizens in an old cosmopolitan section of Cairo but it is so broadly drawn that it's hard to tell if it's meant to be serious or a lampoon.
Directed colorfully by Youssef Chahine and Khaled Youssef, the film, screened in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, tells of a brutally corrupt police officer named Hatem (Khaled Saleh) who lusts after pretty young teacher Nour (Mena Shalaby) and goes to all extremes to win her over.
Nour, however, is in love with handsome district attorney Sherif Youssef El Sherif) and wants nothing to do with the vile and overbearing cop. Scene after scene demonstrates the scale of Hatem's corruption, the torture he suffers from his unrequited love and the terror he metes out in frustration.
But sequences that seem as if they should be taken seriously, including brutality and torture, lead to romantically slight episodes that could come from an over-the-top soap opera. The young players are awkwardly starry eyed while Saleh plays the buffoon villain like a cartoon character.
Like many places, Egypt suffers from social upheaval and there is no doubt that it deserves filmmakers to bring its troubles to the world's attention. But it's doubtful that this picture will get the job done and boxoffice potential appears slim.
CHAOS
Misr International Films
Credits:
Directors: Youssef Chahine, Khaled Youssef
Writer: Nasser Abdel Rahman
Producers: Gabriel Khoury, Rachid Bouchareb
Director of photography: Ramsis Marzouk
Production designer: Hamed Hemdan
Music: Yasser Abdel Rahman
Costume designer: Monia Fath El Bab
Editor: Ghada Ezzedine
Cast:
Hatem: Khaled Saleh
Nour: Mena Shalaby
Sherif: Youssef El Sherif
Wedad: Hala Sedky
Bahia: Hala Fakher
Running time -- 124 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Misr International Films
VENICE, Italy -- The French and Egyptian co-production Chaos aspires to relate the difficulties of socially deprived citizens in an old cosmopolitan section of Cairo but it is so broadly drawn that it's hard to tell if it's meant to be serious or a lampoon.
Directed colorfully by Youssef Chahine and Khaled Youssef, the film, screened in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, tells of a brutally corrupt police officer named Hatem (Khaled Saleh) who lusts after pretty young teacher Nour (Mena Shalaby) and goes to all extremes to win her over.
Nour, however, is in love with handsome district attorney Sherif Youssef El Sherif) and wants nothing to do with the vile and overbearing cop. Scene after scene demonstrates the scale of Hatem's corruption, the torture he suffers from his unrequited love and the terror he metes out in frustration.
But sequences that seem as if they should be taken seriously, including brutality and torture, lead to romantically slight episodes that could come from an over-the-top soap opera. The young players are awkwardly starry eyed while Saleh plays the buffoon villain like a cartoon character.
Like many places, Egypt suffers from social upheaval and there is no doubt that it deserves filmmakers to bring its troubles to the world's attention. But it's doubtful that this picture will get the job done and boxoffice potential appears slim.
CHAOS
Misr International Films
Credits:
Directors: Youssef Chahine, Khaled Youssef
Writer: Nasser Abdel Rahman
Producers: Gabriel Khoury, Rachid Bouchareb
Director of photography: Ramsis Marzouk
Production designer: Hamed Hemdan
Music: Yasser Abdel Rahman
Costume designer: Monia Fath El Bab
Editor: Ghada Ezzedine
Cast:
Hatem: Khaled Saleh
Nour: Mena Shalaby
Sherif: Youssef El Sherif
Wedad: Hala Sedky
Bahia: Hala Fakher
Running time -- 124 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/11/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.