Role of Women’s Cinema in changing society

CAIRO – 3 November 2020: A symposium was held at the Instituto Cervantes in Cairo on the importance of cinema and its role in changing society, strengthening the role of women and empowering them.

The symposium was held in the evening of Nov. 2 after the screening of the film "High Revolutionaries" (2017) by Mexican director and screenwriter Sergio Sanchez.

The Spanish actress Carla Nieto, who participated in the Genoa Film Festival, took part in the  symposium along with  Nabila Hassan, a professor at the Academy of Arts in Alexandria.

The symposium was moderated by Cultural Counselor at the Spanish Embassy in Cairo, Pilar Pianuiba.

During the seminar, Nabila Hassan emphasized that cinema is a very important means, representing a reflection of what is happening in society, but despite that, women have only been able to talk about their issues through cinema in recent years.

Hassan believes that "changing a woman's status begins with the woman herself through understanding her true role and that her life is not limited only to being the mother who sacrifices for the sake of family members, plays all roles and provides excessive comfort for everyone to the extent that we see a generation in which the characteristic of selfishness is present.”

On her part, actress Carla Nieto said, "I grew up watching Disney movies where the woman is the victim and waiting for the knight to save her, but we do not need someone to save us. We can save ourselves by ourselves without waiting for this from anyone, and the cinematic and television works must reflect this."

Regarding what women's cinema needs at the present time, Nieto highlighted that "women's roles in cinema should reflect their true spirit without being limited to being the beautiful or attractive woman or the weak personality", pointing out that society has implanted a stereotype in women, "we must be aware of it and work to correct it.”

As for Nabila Hassan, she believes that Egyptian cinema needs support in the production sector, which mainly seeks to present commercial cinematic works.

It is noteworthy that the symposium and the screening of the film were organized by the Instituto Cervantes in Cairo in cooperation with the embassies of Spain and Mexico in Egypt.

It is the first cultural attendance activity to be held at the headquarters of the Instituto Cervantes in Cairo since the strict measures that were applied last March due to the Coronavirus.

The film screening was attended by a limited number of people, taking into account safety measures and social distancing to battle COVID-19.