An Egyptian film festival, without Egyptian films (Feature)

By Nehal el-Sherif Nov 7, 2009, 1:08 GMT

Cairo - Flash bulbs will pop as Salma Hayek, Lucy Liu, Samuel L Jackson and a bevy of Bollywood stars strut down a red carpet at the Cairo International Film Festival next week.

Egypt's top actors and directors will be there too, but their films, by and large, will not. For many in this country that prides itself on being the traditional hub of Arab cinema and television, the dearth of Egyptian films in the 33rd annual festival's most prestigious competitions is a mark of shame.

Not one Egyptian film made it into the international competition. A single Egyptian effort will compete for 'best Arab film.'

The mysterious disappearance of homegrown cinema begs the question: where have all the Egyptian films gone?

The president of the festival, Ezzat Abu-Ouf, recently told reporters in Cairo that current Egyptian films simply were not up to snuff.

'We, the festival administrators, decided that if there was no film good enough to represent Egypt in the international competition this year, then we would prefer not to participate at all,' he said.

'There was one film - I won't mention its name - but the production company withdrew it at the last moment,' Abu-Ouf continued. 'We don't know why.'

For others, however, the declining quality of Egyptian films is not a satisfying explanation.

'This year has seen more distinguished Egyptian films than any other for ages,' prominent Egyptian film critic Samir Farid wrote in the Egyptian daily al-Masry al-Youm.

'These films compete in international film festivals across the Arab world and in the West. Abu Ouf ... seems not to know that the main purpose of any international film festival anywhere is to support the local cinema industry,' he argued.

Declining Egyptian participation in the country's film festival, the oldest in the Middle East, has become a trend. Last year, the film The Day We Met was the only Egyptian film among 18 entrants to the Cairo festival's international competition.

Egyptian director Ahmed Maher's The Traveler, starring the legendary Omar al-Sharif, premiered at the Venice Film Festival this year. While it is not unusual for serious Egyptian films to premiere at European festivals, Farid and others were particularly stung that the film's first screening in the region was at the three-year-old Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi in October.

The perceived slight seemed particularly sharp considering that Omar al-Sharif is also the honorary president of the Cairo Festival, Farid wrote.

That the film was the first produced by the Ministry of Culture since 1971 and was only the fourth Egyptian film to compete in the Venice festival's international competition also militated for its having a special place in the Cairo festival, Farid argued.

'If filmmakers in Egypt do not see the value of screening their films at the Cairo festival, then how can we ask people from the Arab and international cinema industry to see the festival's value? How can the festival compete with other festivals?' he asked.

Film critics have speculated that Egyptian directors may be lured by the bigger cash prizes the festivals in the petro-dollar-rich Gulf states can offer.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar now all boast their own film festivals. Saudi Arabia was scheduled to launch its own this July, but organisers canceled it at the last minute, following pressure from religious conservatives.

And while the Gulf festivals don't have the history of the Cairo festival - the Dubai festival, the eldest among them, began in 2004 - they do have deeper pockets.

While the top prize in the Cairo festival is worth roughly 18,000 dollars, the top three prizes in Abu Dhabi festival are 100,000 dollars each - or, taken together, a third of the Cairo festival's total annual operating budget.

The Cairo festival has responded by luring international celebrities to the event. Charlize Theron, Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon graced the 2008 festival. This year, in addition to the 'A- list' Hollywood celebrities, the legendary Bollywood director Kabir Khan will be on hand to open the festival with his latest effort, New York.

Egyptian film cognoscenti say several Egyptian directors have just wrapped 'excellent' films, and that 2010 promises to be a banner year for Egyptian cinema.

As the 2009 Cairo festival edition opens with scant Egyptian representation in the festival's main events, perhaps many will be wondering how many of those promising new efforts will be featured in the 2010 events.