Ismailia Film Festival launches on April 19

CAIRO – 12 April 2017: The 19th edition of Ismailia International film festival for documentaries and short films is set to launch on April 19 in Ismailia, a city in north-eastern Egypt, Al Ahram reported on April 10.

About 2,500 documentaries and short films from the participating countries will be screened in the festival between April 19th till April 25th . The judging jury is set to categorize the films under the four main competitive awards featured in the festival based on their quality and genres.

The festival will also feature non-competitive categories such as panorama and animated films as well as special screening of certain selected films, according to Al Ahram.

Cinematic tycoon and Spanish director Carlous Saura, who participated before in the Golden Globes, Cannes and BAFTA Awards is one of the jury members alongside various directors and film critics from Egypt, India, and Italy.

The 19th edition of the festival pays tribute to the late Egyptian director Mohamed Kamel Al-Kaliouby and film critic Samir Farid who recently passed away on April 4. A number of Kaliouby’s films will screen during the time span of the festival.

The festival will be held in Ismailia’s cultural palace while some films will screen across different venues in Ismailia.