CIFF organizes film screening program for prisoners

CAIRO – 11 November – 2017: The 28th edition of the Carthage International Film Festival (CIFF) is the only festival that organizes a film screening program for prisoners. The goal is to deliver a cultural service that will help them feel like normal Tunisian citizens.

This edition of the festival chose certain movies to include in the program; among these films is “Ketaba ala Thalg” (Writing on Snow). The film is an attempt to deal with the ideological, political and geographic divisions in Palestine and the Arab world by portraying people who believe they know the truth and reject the idea of coexistence despite the differences.

These characters believe that coexistence would neutralize all segments of society with their different ideologies into one segment with one ideology – that ideology being the one most suitable for achieving their desired gains.

“Ketaba ala Thalg” was directed by Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi and stars actors from different Arab countries, such as famous Egyptian actor Amr Waked, veteran Syrian actor Ghassan Massoud, Palestinian actor Areen Omari, Palestinian actor Ramzi Maqdisi, Lebanese actor Yomna Marwan, and others.

The festival kicked off on November 4 and will run until November 12. This year's edition is headed by cinema producer Naguib Ayad. Renowned Egyptian director Kamla Abu Zekri was chosen by the festival management to be a jury member in the long feature movies competition.

The 28th edition of CIFF will focus on several factors, the most important of which is the development and promotion of Arab and African films through the promotion of competitions. This year’s edition will also focus on the restoration of the official competition for documentaries, doubling the financial awards and highlighting innovative cinematic experiences.

The festival will focus intensely on Asian and Latin American cinema, which are considered among the most influential cinemas in the world. The festival chose “Ketaba ala Thalg” (Writing on Snow) to be the opening film of the 28th edition.

Three Egyptian movies will participate in the 28th edition of the festival, including “Sheikh Jackson”, “Akhdar Yabes” (Withered Green), and “Balad Meen” (Whose Country?).

“Sheikh Jackson” revolves around the death of the “King of Pop”, Michael Jackson. The plotline focuses on an aspiring imam who loves Jackson’s music and imitates the pop star’s performances. His strong relationship with Salafism reflects the contradictions in his life.

“Akhdar Yabes” tells the story of a woman who asks her family to attend her sister’s engagement. The protagonist is very traditional and strict. Finally, she receives news that leads her to rethink her life and beliefs.

The Egyptian documentary titled “El-Naht fel Zaman” (Sculpturing Over the Ages) was chosen to participate in the official documentary competition at the Carthage International Film Festival.

The documentary recounts the life of acclaimed pioneering puppetry artist Nagi Shaker. It tackles Shaker’s various contributions in other areas, such as directing, design and fashion, throughout his 50-year long career.

The Tunisian festival was launched for the first time in 1966, and is considered to be one of the oldest festivals in Africa.