13th Luxor African Film Festival: All you need to know
The LAFF is Egypt's only cinematic event completely dedicated to showcasing the cinema riches from the continent.
Throughout its history, the festival has screened countless films by African directors, held workshops, seminars, and industry-related events, attended by filmmakers and film aficionados.
The festival, the first edition of which held in 2012, is organised by the Independent Shabab Foundation (ISF) NGO. It is the brainchild of Egyptian screenwriter and actor Sayed Fouad (LAFF president), and actress and film director Azza El-Hosseiny (festival director). Actor Mahmoud Hemeida is the LAFF's honorary president.
This year, the poster was designed by renowned Egyptian visual artist Mohamed Abla. The design reflects the LAFF slogan: "All Colours of Africa."
Each year, the opening and/or closing ceremonies take place at one of the remarkable archaeological locations of Luxor. The 13th edition's opening ceremony will be held at the Luxor Temple.
The festival comprises a number of competitive segments: Feature Film, Short Film, African Diaspora Film Competitions, and the Egyptian Student Film Competition.
Films
The organiser of the 13th edition revealed some titles that will be screened in some of the competitive segments.
The Feature Film Competitions include films such as Goodbye Julia (Sudan), Flight 404 (Egypt), Mami Wata (Nigeria), Banel and Adama (Senegal), Agonda (Kenya), Al Djanat (Burkina Faso), The Cemetery of Cinema (France, Senegal, Guinea, Saudi Arabia), Animalia (Morocco), and Behind the Mountains (Tunisia).
The Student Film Competition that focuses on Egyptian young, up-and-coming filmmakers, will screen Madonna, Bread, Nile Harvest, Nahawand, Different, and No Matter How Far, among others.
Films from African diaspora include Le Courage En Plus (France, Benin), Mambar Pierrette (Cameroon), Bravo, Burkina! (Burkina Faso), Emna (Tunisia), and Togoland (Togo).
The line-up of the Short Films Competition features Lobi Ecosimba (Congo), Braquage (Tunisia), The Last Shoemaker (Uganda), Three Days to Demolish (Egypt), Sous Silence (Senegal), Usiliye (Zambia), Le Dernier Voyage (Mauritania), and Chiffon (Egypt), among others.
The honourees
This year, the festival will bear the name of Khairy Beshara, the Egyptian multi-award-winning director credited with pioneering Egyptian neo-realism.
Special tribute will be paid to the late Senegalese director and ethnologist Safi Faye, and a book about her, written in French by Najib Sanya and Thierno Ibrahima Dia, will be published by the festival.