Egyptian feminist scenarist to conduct screenwriting workshop

CAIRO - 26 December 2017: Wessam Soliman, a famously women-oriented screenwriter, will conduct a screenwriting workshop at Cima starting from January 29. Taking place over three months, the workshop’s program addresses various aspects of cinema writing.

The workshop will discuss the principles and basics of screenwriting, dialogue and drama, plot and conflict, and character design and development. The three-month workshop will end with an analysis of a cinematic work, which could be either a short or feature-length fictional film.

Wessam Soliman is a scenarist whose debut work was the film “Ahla el-Awqat” (Best of Times), which was released in 2004. The film stars Hanan Turk, Menna Shalaby, and Hind Sabry, who are all celebrated actresses, prominent in Egyptian cinema. “Best of Times” deals with the struggles and experiences of the three women. Soliman is known to exclusively write female protagonists and shed light on their adventures from their own perspectives. She uses women’s stories to discuss social issues and realities through her films.

Her works also include “Banat Wust el-Balad” (Downtown Girls), released in 2005 and also stars Menna Shalaby and Hind Sabry and the film “Fee Sha’et Masr el-Gedida” (In The Heliopolis Flat) released in 2007, starring the celebrated actress Ghada Adel. Her most recent work, the 2014 film “Fatat el-Masna’” (Girl of the Factory), that earned her the award for best screenwriter at the Sawiras Cultural Award competition.

Cima is an educational space that provides and hosts workshops dedicated to teaching skills for film and cinema. Workshops conducted at Cima include scenario writing, cinematography, directing, and acting.