Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) President Hussein Fahmy has raised the curtain on preparations for the 46th edition of the festival, slated for the period between November 12 and 21.
The festival administration, he said, works hard to address past mistakes, while standing firm on the event’s core values in the face of all financial temptations.
He revealed that he had spurned a $1 million sponsorship offer by an Arab television channel, lest the festival should be politicized.
“The festival’s national principles and international relations are non-negotiable,” Fahmy said.
“I cannot compromise on these principles or relations for money,” he added at a press briefing in Cairo last week.
Fahmy, an iconic actor who appeared in over 100 remarkable cinema and television works,underscored the importance of sponsors for the festival, the premier cinema event in the Arab region.
These sponsors, he said, are important for making the necessary funding for the festival available.
“The CIFF is unique in that it always has a balanced network of sponsors,” Fahmy said.
He noted that the Egyptian Ministry of Culture usually contributes half the funds needed for organizing the festival, providing almost all the logistical needs of the event.
Fahmy mounted the saddle of the CIFF, for the first time, in 1998 and remained in place until 2001. He returned to the helm of this great annual cinema event in March 2022.
All through his career as festival head, he had never budged from or compromised on his principles.
Last year, he approached a local soft drink manufacturer and asked him to sponsor the festival, despite the low fame of his products, in the face of growing boycott by the majority of Egyptians of other international brands against the background of the Israeli war in Gaza.
The same manufacturer brooked no delay. Now, he owes the surge in his company’s products to Fahmyand the CIFF.
This year, Fahmy is bent on hammering out more partnerships with local businesses.
His support of local businesses and the local economy, he said, would move hand in hand with the solidarity he wants the CIFF to demonstrate with the Palestinians and their just cause.
The CIFF, Fahmy said, would keep backing the Palestinian issue, regardless of the current complex political environment and any unpredictable daily developments.
“Nevertheless, we will not allow the festival to become a politicized platform,” Fahmy said.
“We want to maintain the festival as a creative artistic space with a clear national stance,” he added.
He noted that the festival would work to express solidarity with the Palestinians and the Palestinian issue in a way that befits this issue.
“This will be done without undermining the artistic purpose of the festival,” Fahmy said.
The CIFF was postponed in 2023 because of the Israeli war in Gaza. Last year, the event celebrated Palestinian cinema.
Shows of support for the Palestinian issue, Fahmysaid, would continue this year as well.
“The CIFF is a state festival, not a commercial project,” Fahmy said.
“We don’t trade the festival for money, no matter how tempting the offers are,” he added.
Next year’s edition of the CIFF is expected to witness the screening of 12 restored Egyptian classicfilms. These films will add to ten others that are making their debut in this year’s edition of the festival.
Fahmy revealed that all these films will have foreign language subtitles so that they can be viewed by global audiences.
He added that acclaimed Egyptian actor, Khaled El-Nabawy, would be honoured this year in recognition of his marvellous career.
Fahmy is expected to hold a major press conference on October 12 to announce all details about the 46th edition of the CIFF.
He expressed hopes that this edition of the festival would match Egypt’s importance as an international cinema hub and a destination for cinema lovers in the Arab region.
