Buddha Mountain (Photo : Facup 1/YouTube)
Chinese movie producers often participate in international film festivals which serve as a showcase of Chinese culture. Their participation includes those held in China, such as the recent China Women’s Film Festival, and overseas such as the Venice Film Festival.
At the ongoing 38th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), a “China Night” was held on Wednesday to celebrate the six decades of the Chinese-Egyptian Culture Year when diplomatic relations was established between the two nations, Xinhua News reported.
Liu Yongfeng, charge d’affaires of China’s embassy in the Egyptian capital city said that “China Night” is a great platform for cultural exchanges between the two nations. He added that “China Night” is a showcase of the long years of friendship between Beijing and Cairo and mutual trust as well as genuine understanding and friendship between two cultures.
Among the 20 Chinese movies that joined the festival are Jian Zhangke’s “Mountains May Depart,” Diao Yinan’s “Black Coal, Thin Ice” and Li Yu’s “Buddha Mountain. The day before “China Night,” Jia was given the CIFF’s Excellence Award, while Li was made member of the festival’s board of jurors.
The CIFF, now on its 38th year, started on Tuesday with opening rites held at the Cairo Opera House. The film festival would run until Nov. 24. The CIFF has been going yearly since 1976, except in 2011 and 2013 when Egypt had political turmoil and two heads of state were ousted from their posts.
For this year, there are five Egyptian films in the CIFF, with two official entries – “Youm lele Setat” (A Day for Women) by director Kamela Abu Zekry and “Al-Barr Al-Tani (The Other Bank), by director Ali Edris. The stars of the first film are Elham Shahine, Mahmoud Hemeda and Nelly Karim, while stars of the second movie are Muhammad Ali and Afaf Shuaib.
To be featured in the “Prospects of Cinema” section is “Lahazat Entiharya” (Suicidal Moments) and in the “Panorama” section are “Ehna Masreen Armn” (We are Egyptians Armenians) and “Hamesh Fe Tareekh al-Balee” (A Footnote in Ballet History), according to Egyptianindependent.
