Luxor African Film Festival to screen ‘Eshtebak’

CAIRO – 20 March 2018: The Luxor African Film Festival will screen the film “Eshtebak” (Clash), directed by famous Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, on Tuesday, March 20.

“Eshtebak” stars Nelly Karim, Hany Adel and Ahmed Daash, among others. Diab was one of the prominent participants in the January 25 Revolution, so he decided to make this film about the revolution. “Eshtebak” took Diab five years to prepare, and then it was released in 2016.

In the film, Diab discusses many issues that started with the rise of the revolution in 2011 until the clashes that took place all over Egypt between the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood supporters and military supporters. “Eshtebak” won a number of awards and drew attention to Diab as a distinguished filmmaker who presents a different perspective to cinema.

The film participated in the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 in the Uncertain Regard section and was highly praised not only from the jury members but from all the attendees who saw the movie. It’s worth mentioning that Hollywood megastar Tom Hanks also praised the movie and even sent a letter to Diab to praise his film, describing it as magnificent. The worldwide booming success of “Eshtebak” encouraged Cannes Film Festival organizers to choose Diab as a jury member in 2017.

The seventh edition of the Luxor African Film Festival is being held March 16-22 under the auspices of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi at the Temple of Deir al-Bahri in Luxor.

The festival’s opening ceremony was attended by Egyptian Minister of Culture Ines Abdel Dayem and Luxor Governor Mohamed Badr. The famous Egyptian band Black Theama – whose musical genre includes different styles, including Nubian rhythms, reggae, hip-hop and other African styles – performed in the opening ceremony.

The Luxor African Film Festival was founded by the Youth Artists Foundation under the auspices and support of the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Tourism, Luxor governorate and the Film Syndicate.