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Film can break the barriers of ignorance
Text and photos by Tarek Atia
(cairolive.com, October 10, 2001)
Danny Glover sends a video greeting as the 25th Cairo International
Film Festival -- taking place in the "worst circumstances anyone can
imagine" -- begins with a torrent of confetti
Exclusive coverage and plenty of photos from cairolive.com
Film can do this
"The films were all here, the jury was all here -- why postpone the
festival?"
It was a year ago that Lebanese model Rola Saad showed up at the
opening of the Cairo International Film Festival with purple hair, and now look around
-- how many girls have those tell-tale purple streaks in their hair?
Although this year there weren't that many in this crowd -- mainly because Egyptian
cinema's younger generation was largely absent amongst the
usual melange of tuxedo-clad actors, strappily-dressed starlets and
roving camera crews pumping out the standard "happy to be here" clips.
Of course this year there was a slightly different mood. War was
literally in the air -- but despite the cancellation of a few of the
guests as a result -- the show must go on. The films were all here, the
jury was all here -- why postpone the festival?
 So then: after the pre-party paparazzi promenade in the marble
courtyard of the Opera House, the opening ceremony of the 25th Cairo
International Film Festival begins in the opera's main hall. The
audience is treated to a multi-media presentation celebrating the festival's silver
jubilee. On the big screen at the side of the stage, a panorama of some
of the hottest guests to have graced the festival appears, accompanied
by a Hussein Fahmy voice-over -- Nicholas Cage, Mustafa El-Akkad, Alain
Delon, Sophia Loren, John Malkovich, Omar El-Sherif, etc. All of which
highlights the fact that no international stars made it to this year's
round. The "worst circumstances anyone can imagine," as Fahmy, when he
finally appeared on stage, described the state of war the world has
felt since September 11 -- and especially since last Sunday -- did not
stop the festival from taking place, but it did stop expected
luminaries like Kate Winslet and Danny Glover from taking a plane on
over. Glover, however, was kind enough to send a videotaped message, in
which he explained that the calls for justice in the US were not calls
for revenge -- and would take civilians into account. Both Glover and
Fahmy are UN good will ambassadors. Glover, who has visited Egypt with
the UN, said the world had much to learn from Egypt. "By learning about
each other we can break down the barriers of ignorance. Film can do
this." Read more
Photos: The audience drowns in confetti; Festival director Hussein Fahmy (left) and Culture Minister Farouk Hosni
Did you like this article? Send your comments to comments@cairolive.com
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