'Youm lel Setat' wins the Best Movie Award at VIFF

CAIRO – 20 November 2017: The Egyptian movie "Youm lel Setat" (A Day For Women) won the Best Feature Movie Award at the 37th Verona International Film Festival.

The movie screened at the 11th edition of the Gli Occhi dell’Africa in Pordenone, Italy, on November 14 and was included in a program dedicated to presenting the best African movies to Italian audiences.

Most recently, "Youm lel Setat" participated in the 31st African Film Festival in Italy, which was held from November 3 to 12.

The film won four awards at six international film festivals last October.

The story of the movie takes place in one of the underprivileged Egyptian districts, where the three main heroines of the movie, Azza, Shaimaa and Laila, live. One day, a new swimming pool opens in their neighborhood with a day designated for women only; Sundays.

The first Sunday witnessed the gathering of all the women in the area who come from diverse backgrounds. Azza has long dreamed of wearing swimsuits, Shaimaa finally finds someone who listens to her when she talks about her private life and Laila tries to overcome her grief over her late son.

The movie stars Elham Shaheen, Nelly Karim, Ahmed al-Fishawy, Mahmoud Hemeida, Eyad Nassar, Nahed al-Sebaie, Hala Sedky and Ahmed Dawoud. “Youm Lel Setat” is written by Hanaa Attia and directed by Kamla Abou Zekri.

"Youm lel Setat" won the Best Movie Award at the Arab Film Festival in Rotterdam, and the movie’s heroine, Elham Shaheen, was honored for her artistic career.

"Youm lel Setat" previously won the Best Film Award at the 20th Khouribga African Film Festival in Morocco. Also, the movie was granted the award in the closing ceremony of the festival, which took place on September 16. Shaheen shared the Best Actress Award with Karim at the 13th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival in Russia for their roles in the movie on September 11. “Youm Lel Setat” was the only Egyptian movie participating in the festival this year.