Focus on Egypt
The 36th Brussels International Independent Film Festival will be taking place on 3-8 November.
The festival will feature more than 60 countries showing 100+ films, of which many are being shown for the first time in Europe and worldwide.
A major film event, the festival welcomes the talents of today and tomorrow, as Brussels becomes a meeting point for filmmakers from all around the world.
The Brussels International Independent Film Festival is a place where filmmakers can meet and exchange ideas, an oasis of free-minded individuals who come together to inspire the cinema of tomorrow. First held in 1974, the festival has slowly but surely come to include all new media forms, becoming a flagship venue for independent cinema. Despite its many changes over the years, the festival has remained faithful to its original purpose – to allow those outside of traditional distribution methods a way of expressing their talent.
This year, under the auspices of three competitions (international, national and a special competition for people with disabilities) movies from countries as diverse as Mexico, Lithuania, Morroco, Indonesia will be in the spotlight, plus there’s the added bonus of a special guest country – Egypt.
The ‘guest-star country’ concept aims to highlight aspects of cinema that are little known to the Belgian public, and also provides an opportunity to promote a culture via the works of young artists who are regnerating the life force of a cultural environment in their search for something new.
Among the many Egyptian luminaries attending the festival, iconic Egyptian star Yosra (pictured) will be there to receive the festival’s Lifetime Achievement in Film Award prize for 2009. Born in 1955 in Cairo, Yosra has made more than 90 films addressing life’s social, political and human aspects.
In addition, among many other delights, Good News’ movie Halim (2006), a biopic about the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez, directed by Sherif Arafa, will be screened.
So what are you waiting for? See you at the festival!
Click here for full programme details.
36th Brussels International
Independent Film Festival, 3-8 November 2009
Centre Culturel Jacques Franck
Chaussée de Waterloo, 94
1060 Brussels T. +32 (0)2 649 3340
info@centremultimedia.org
