New bloods being pumped into the veins of CIFF
New management to the press center, also to the critics’ week & cinema of tomorrow competitions
Cairo – 6th May
Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) is about to enter a new phase as it is preparing for its 40th edition that will be held from 20th till 29th November.
Concerning the fifth edition of the parallel programs that were launched in CIFF’s 36th edition by its former head Samir Farid; the critic Osama Abd El- Fatah will be managing the International Critic’s week specified for the first and the second films for its directors.
As for Cinema of Tomorrow competition that is specified for short and student films will be managed by the critic Andrew Mohsen. Meanwhile, CIFF’s deputy artistica director Ahmed Shawky continues as a manager of Horizons of Arab Cinema competition.
The press center will be managed by the critic Khaled Mahmoud who will be supervising a team specialized in dealing with local, regional and international printed and online press, as well as supervising the social media mediums.
Mohamed Hefzy head of CIFF said about these changes:” the choices made were based on the attempts to develop the administration in a way that suits the picture we want to deliver to the world about CIFF as a major modern event; working as a part of the cinematic industry and culture in the whole world and not only in Egypt and the Arab world”.
Youssef Cherif Rizkallah artistic director of CIFF regards the changes as a reflection to the administration’s desire to pump new bloods in CIFF’s different sections in a way that grants the festival more vitality and interaction with modern work demands.
Critic Osama Abd El-Fatah said about managing the International Critics’ week:” it has particularity in programming and choosing the films based on mere artistic features, and discovering new cinematic talents from their first or second works; it will be continuity to the basis set since the foundation of the program by both of its former managers, as well as seeking fruitful cooperation with Egyptian Film Critics Association (EFCA)”
Andrew Mohsen manager Cinema of Tomorrow competition spoke about his vision about the new edition of the competition:” the competition has achieved great success in the previous editions and we will work on maintaining this success, along with working on adding more variety to the submitted films in order to provide more space for documentary and animation films, also conjoining distinctive films from countries that hadn’t participated yet in the competition”.
And concerning the press center and its new structure; critic Khaled Mahmoud says:” CIFF has a great value regionally and internationally, thus it requires the presence of modern press center that reflects all the events with the desired speed and accuracy, and to facilitate the mission of fellow journalists whether Egyptians or Arabs or foreigners. Its policy will be reflected on the credence and the methods of circulating the festival’s news and its updates moment by moment and that’s according to an ambitious plan that’s appropriate for the position and future of a large cinematic entity, and also it will benefit from the great contribution that had been provided by the previous administration of the press center through the previous years”.
Thus, CIFF will be announcing about the submission for the films desiring to be participating in its 40th edition starting from 21st May.
