This year, the Egyptian flag will once again fly proudly above a pavilion named “Al-Mahrousa – The Protected One” as we return to the festival market after a ten-year absence.
During those years, Egyptian cinema’s wings were clipped, yet ideas still fluttered within those encounters and neighboring countries transformed the market into a hub of activity.
Many cinematic projects were initiated within the pavilions.
We were the first among Arab nations to establish this pavilion, starting in the late 1980s, during the tenure of the festival’s president, the great writer Saad al-Din Wahba, who took over the leadership of the prestigious festival from the great author Kamal al-Mallakh.
My journey to the festival began in 1992. Leadership at the Cairo International Film Festival transitioned after Professor al-Din Wahba, and the pavilion was always our permanent fixture, a place where we would meet in the available moments between films.
The responsibility for securing agreements with the market administration in Cannes fell to the esteemed critic and media figure Youssef Sherif Rizkallah. However, financial obstacles coupled with the decline in the value of the Egyptian pound against the Euro caused this pavilion to become a distant memory.
All attempts to revive it ended in failure, as we didn’t address the root of the problem.
This time, our initiative was a success. It included the Cairo International Film Festival, represented by Hussein Fahmy, the El Gouna Film Festival represented by Samih Sawiris and Amr Mansi, and the Egypt Film Committee affiliated with the Media Production City.
This committee, representing Egypt, is now achieving multiple accomplishments in overcoming obstacles to filming foreign productions in Egypt. This confirms that whenever a genuine will is present, we can overcome any challenge.
I recall last year, during the reception hosted by Samih Sawiris for the El Gouna Film Festival, how he told me that he wished for the return of the Egyptian pavilion. At the time, he proposed the idea of a partnership with the Cairo International Film Festival.
In truth, I didn’t discuss the idea with anyone – I wasn’t sure how enthusiastic all the parties would be.
I literally wrote last year in my opinion article how saddened I was on seeing the flags of many countries fluttered the Riviera shore and within inside the market, while we remained absent.
Believe me, the problem isn’t primarily financial but fundamentally intellectual. I don’t believe anyone grasped the importance of presence, and that’s why we remained absent.
Like all countries in the world, we were accustomed to holding meetings inside this pavilion, the first of which was the one where we launched the Cairo International Film Festival.
After that, we would also see representatives from a number of Egyptian festivals, such as Alexandria and Luxor, keen to attend at their own expense, despite limited resources, and announce their festival events.
At its core, the issue isn’t solely about dwindling financial resources, but rather the absence of a genuine desire to seek a solution. Furthermore, the matter extends beyond the Cairo International Film Festival bearing the burden alone.
I believe the festival first needs a serious study regarding its direct affiliation with the state.
Yes, it is Egypt’s premier cinematic event, and at one point, starting from the era of the great writer Kamal al-Mallakh, it was the most significant cultural event Egypt experienced. It was a festival sponsored by the state and organized by the Cinema Writers and Critics Association under El-Mallakh’s charismatic leadership. Gradually, the state’s influence increased, but it only ever held the title of sponsor, not organizer.
The purview of the state concerning the festival ought to be confined to sponsorship; the divergence in approach is substantial.
We must be frank with ourselves: is it in Egypt’s best interest for the current situation to continue? The decline in state support is attributable to the weakened Egyptian pound against the dollar and euro. The state’s involvement imposes numerous administrative obstacles on the festival’s leadership.
These and other questions remain posed and warrant careful consideration.
By the way, last year Hussein Fahmy did not hold the standard press conference where he would announce the festival’s events.
However, this year, not only will a press conference be held in the Egyptian pavilion, but there will also be more than one seminar on Egyptian cinema, the secret to its pioneering status, and how we can regain its brilliance.
Furthermore, a number of Egyptian producers, including Mohamed Hefzy, Ahmed al-Badawy, Shahinaz al-Akkad, Adly Toma, the writer Mariam Naoum, and others, have decided to establish a parallel pavilion under the Egyptian flag.
This merits its own focus!
Author’s biography:
Tarek al-Shenawy is a journalist, film critic, and professor of film criticism at the Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Mass Communication in Cairo University, and a Bachelor’s degree from the Institute of Cinema.
Shenawy has won numerous awards for best critical article from the Syndicate of Journalists multiple times, as well as from film societies. He was awarded the title of Best Popular Film Critic by the “Der Giest” Association in 2015 – a title that has not been awarded to anyone since.
He has also chaired and participated in the judging committees of numerous international film festivals, including the Valencia and Dubai Film Festivals.
He began practicing film criticism nearly 35 years ago in the Rose al-Yousse magazine and continues to write a weekly column titled “Kalma we Nos” (Word and a Half) on its pages. He has written for numerous magazines, newspapers, and websites both inside and outside Egypt.
He currently writes a daily column in Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper and a weekly column in Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper, and has published over thirty books.
