The Egyptian Film Festival, April 2 - 7, 2012

Six films will be shown at the 1st Egyptian Film Festival in Addis Abeba, April 2 - 7, 2012. From historical drama over political comedy to romance, every film lover will find his taste of movies in the program.

The event is organised by the Egyptian Embassy in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute and the Alliance Ethio-Francaise, where also some of the movies, next to the Addis Ababa University Institute of Ethiopian Studies and the Ethiopian National Theatre, will be shown.

All movies have subtitles in English and the entrance is free.

The Egyptian Embassy is planning to organize the festival also in the next years, in the future maybe even for one week or ten days.

Monday, April 2nd, 6:30 PM (Italian Cultural Institute):

"Is it Chaos?" (2007)

Choubra, cosmopolitan neighborhood of Cairo. Hatem, maggoty police officer, handles this neighborhood with an iron fist. Every single citizen fears and hates him. Only Nour, a young woman he lusts after, dares stand up to him. But Nour is secretly in love with Cherif, brilliant and uncorrupted deputy public prosecutor. Green with envy, Hatem comes between. He wants Nour for himself. He turns her life into a nightmare. The story of a frustrated love. (Drama, 124 Min.)

Director: Khaled Youssef  Starring: Khaled Saleh, Mena Shalaby, Youssef El Sherif

Tuesday, April 3rd, 6:30 PM (Alliance Ethio-Francaise):

"The Emigrant" (1994)

The story is loosely inspired by the Biblical tale of Joseph. The central character of Ram casts himself out into the wilds of Egypt to study agriculture. Traveling with his brothers, he is cruelly sold by them to an influential official in the Pharoh's court who is taken aback by Ram's impressive drive and determination. Suddenly caught up in all manners of political and sexual intrigue, the tale of Ram/Joseph contains a salient lesson for all. (Historical Drama, 128 Min.)

Director: Youssef Chahine, holder of the Cannes Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the festival.

Starring: Khaled Nabawy, Michel Piccoli, Hanan Turk, Youssra

Wednesday, April 4th, 6:30 PM (Alliance Ethio-Francaise):

"Terrorism and Kebab" (1993)

Ahmed, a hard working government employee struggling to keep his family in the middle class, tries unsuccessfully for days to complete necessary paperwork at the mammoth sized government institution to transfer his children to a nearby school. His rage starts to boil, and accidentally he obtains a weapon and seizes control of the building as well as numerous hostages. When the authority finally get around to negotiating, they discover that he has no demands, but justice and being treated as a human. (Comedy, 105 Min.)

Director: Sherif Arafa  Starring: Adel Emam, Youssra, Kamal Al-Shennawi

Thursday, April 5th, 5:00 PM (Addis Ababa University Institute of Ethiopian Studies):

"His Excellency The Minister" (2003)

Ra'fat Rostom becomes a minister by mistake. Since then he gets more and more powerful everyday, and that's when he starts having hilarious and weird nightmares about his corruption and his family. (Politcal Comedy, 100 Min.)

Director: Samir Saif  Starring: Ahmed Zaki, Hesham Abdul-Hamid, Lebleba

Friday, April 6th, 6:30 PM   (Italian Cultural Institute):

"Struggle On the Nile" (1959)

Naive youg Muhasab is asked to accompany his more dependable friend, Mujahed, on a voyage up the Nile to Cairo to sell their boat, the "Bride of the Nile". But a ruthless business rival is determined to see that the men never reach Cairo. Matters become even more complicated when Nargis, a foxy carnival dancer, is discovered hiding out in the cargo hold of their boat. (Drama, 120 Min.)

Director: Atef Salem.  Starring: Omar Sharif, Roshdy Abaza, Hend Rostom

Saturday, April 7th, 5:30 PM (The Ethiopian National Theatre):

"She Made Me a Criminal" (2006)

Rushdy is a nice guy, whom everyone takes advantage of, dreams of an opportunity to be rich. Malak, a daughter of a stingy millionaire takes advantage of Rushdy's naivety to blackmail her father. With the development of the story they will fall in love, so will Rushdy forgive Malak for taking advantage of him? (Romance/Comedy, 105 Min.)

Director: Amr Arafa.  Starring: Ahmad Helmy, Ghada Adel