Hawas receives Golden Gala award at Magna Graecia Film Fest

CAIRO – 3 August 2017: The Egyptologist Zahi Hawas received Golden Gala at Magna Graecia Film Festival in Catanzaro, Italy, for his success in archaeology on Wednesday, August 2, according to Italian newspaper Catanzaro.

The head of the festival Ivan Cardamon has presented the award to Hawas, according to Catanzaro stressing that Hawas has made Italians love Pharaohs.

“Hawas is the greatest Egyptologist and I hope that his victory could attract the attention to the beauty in Egypt and Calabria,” said the journalist Francesco Santokono, the author of The Lotus and the Papyrus book.

Hawas has said during the festival, kicked off on Saturday July 29 and continues till August 5, that Italy and Egypt can rebuild their diplomatic relations as Egyptians and Italians love one another.

"I know that there are big problems between our two countries, and I feel very unhappy to not see an Italian ambassador in Cairo or an Egyptian ambassador in Italy, but I believe our two nations can work hard to be able to re-establish a strong relationship," Hawass said during the festival.

"I know that many think Egypt is not a safe place right now, but it is not so. Our country is actually safe. In three years I have received three thousand American visitors and I want Italians to return to Egypt. There is not any danger, I assure you."

Hawas has spoken about the screening of the film Il Loto e Il Papiro" (The Lotus and the Papyrus) in the festival referring that it will be screened in Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt, on September 10 and in the Opera house on September 11.

He pointed out that the Minister of Antiquity Khaled al-Anany will announce on August 9 new discoveries, among which the latest results of the Scan Pyramid Project done by the Italian University Torino and started almost two years ago to explore the interior design of the Khufu pyramid.

The festival that started in 2004 is one of the most important film festivals for Italian cinema lovers.

Zahi Hawas is a former minister of antiquities and a well-known Egyptology. He has made several discoveries including the Tombs of the Pyramid Builders at Giza, the Valley of the Golden Mummies at Bahariya Oasis and Old Kingdom pyramids, one near the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza.