Organizers of Torino Film Festival and their guests were very sad and astonished on the last day of the event due to the fire which was sparked by electrical defect at one of the film screening venues last Saturday night before the closing ceremony, according to the daily Al Hayat.
Fire ignited at a film store burning a number of rare film versions, which were put ready for screening or possibly seen by the audience for the last time. The extent of the damage and the number of burnt films have not yet been known. An official estimated the number of burnt films between 50-60 including the film of the French duo Jane Mary Strop and Daniel Holier and the Egyptian films Al Momiaa (Mummy) by Shadi Abdel Salam and Hayat Aw Mawt (Death or Life) by Kamal Al Sheikh.
The festival management will issue a statement explaining the reasons of the accident and the volume of damages. The incident cast its shadow over the press conference for announcing the results of the session.
Earlier the jury headed by the Egyptian critic Samir Farid handed the first prize by unanimous votes to the German director Valesca Crisbag’s My Star.
The festival 19th session will be remembered as the most dramatic and possibly the most costly session which hosted more than 1600 people interested in the cinema – Albawaba.com
