“The King” by director Nikos Grammatikos from Greece won first prize at the Cairo International Film Festival while “The Olive Harvest” by Hanna Elias from Palestine came in second place, which also won first prize for best Arabic film. The festival's international jury was headed by the famous French actor Jean-Claude Brialy, who stressed that “The King” was given first prize (the Golden Pyramid) due to the fact that it resembles in many way the novel “The Stranger” by French novelist Albert Camus, signifying the importance of forgiveness and personal freedom.
according to the London based daily, Al Sharq Al Awsat, the committee awarded “The Olive Harvest” the Silver Pyramid due to the value it held in the way it represented the Palestinian resistance in a humanitarian sense.
The festival's main event, as always, was the international competition, which featured first- ever screenings of films from France, Greece, Hungary, Spain, China, Russia, and several other nations, all aimed to win important and valuable prizes. The Egyptian entry in the competition was “Hobb Al-Banat” (Girls Romance) by director Khaled El-Hagar.
The festival's international jury is headed by the famous French actor Jean-Claude Brialy, and included such global cinematic luminaries as Chinese-American actress Bai Ling and Indonesian actress Christine Hakim. The two Egyptians on the jury were actress Nabila Obeid, and author and Al- Ahram editor-in-chief Mohamed Salmawy.
The festival’s vice-president, Soheir Abdel-Kader, and its artistic director, Youssef Cherif Rizkallah, also chatted with the stars about all the different sections being presented by the festival this year, which included focuses on New Arab cinema, women directors from the Arab world, South Korean, Indian and German cinemas, and much more. –Albawaba.com
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
