Cairo International Women Film Festival

Al Hayat daily featured last Friday the 10th edition of the Cairo International Women’s Film Festival (CIWFF) which was held in Cairo between March 4 and 9 with the participation of 59 films from 23 countries. Being a non-competitive event, the newspaper said the festival does not assign an award to participating films, but rather a single award is given based on an audience vote following the screening of each film. Al Hayat described the event as a rally showcasing independent movies created by women from all over the world. It was kicked off back in 2008 by director Amal Ramsis to highlight women’s cinema and films that largely boast a touch of humanity, Al Hayat wrote. The founder and director of CIWFF told the newspaper that the festival is dedicated to cinematic productions by women everywhere, describing it as a true adventure. It is the first of its kind festival in the Arab World, and it remains an independent initiative by a group of women, an event that is not supported by any public institution to ensure its success, Ramsis asserted. She said the festival presents films that are uncommon to the audience and are different from the ones screened in commercial cinemas or television. From the start, Ramses explained, the decision was to screen the films free of charge in order to be accessible to a wider audience. It is in fact, the first festival in Egypt that is free and that is screened with Arabic subtitles. (Al Hayat, March 17, 2017)