04:00 am
Sunday 13 March 2022
Books – Hani Saber:
The Faten Hamama International Film Festival, headed by producer Maggie Anwar, decided to honor the great critic Tarek El-Shennawy with the Egyptian writer’s shield at the next session in Paris, which is scheduled to be held next May.
The festival honors the Egyptian film distributor Antoine Zend, who is considered the most important and oldest film distributor in the Middle East, as he has distributed most of the American films.
Producer Maggie Anwar confirmed, in a press statement: “Critics have a great role in art, and the Egyptian writer’s shield was set up specifically to honor critics and writers, stressing that Tariq El-Shennawy is a great critic and has an important history in the world of criticism.”
She added, “The role of distributor Antoine is important and it is necessary to shed light and honor the symbols who made important imprints in our artistic history.”
The festival will present exclusively to the public, and for the first time globally, a documentary film regarding the life and career of Antoine Zend as a distributor.
The management of the Faten Hamama Film Festival, headed by producer Maggie Anwar, decided that the ninth session of the festival will be held in Paris next May, coinciding with the birthday of Faten Hamama.
The competition films and the panorama films will be shown in one of the cinemas in Paris.
The festival management also decided that the show in Paris would be different from London, where a feast called “Hathor God” would be held for the first time.
The celebration of the god Hathor, a pharaonic deity symbolizing love and music. The celebration is presented within the festival’s activities in France to honor the important lyrical and show-stopping symbols especially in the Arab world. The lyrical and musical performance is presented by one of the young artists to introduce the musical heritage, especially the Egyptian and Arab, to confirm that artistic creativity continues and that the past recognizes the present.
It is noteworthy that the Faten Hamama Festival is the first international Egyptian festival to be held outside the Middle East, and princesses and princes from the British royal family are keen to attend and support its activities.