Egypt’s Minister of Culture inaugurates Cairo International Film Festival

CAIRO – 2 December 2020: Egypt’s Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem inaugurated the activities of the 42nd Cairo International Film Festival, which will run  from December 2 to 10.

The culture minister inaugurated the festival in the presence of Minister of Tourism & Antiquities Khaled el-Enani, Minister of State for Information Osama Heikal, President of the Festival Director Mohamed Hefzy, various stars of the seventh art and more than 200 artists and guests from different parts of the world, and the participation of 84 films.

Egypt's Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem during her speech - photo via Egypt's Min. of Culture

That took place on the stage specially prepared for the festival at the Egyptian Opera House, within a joyful night that witnessed a dazzling international opening befitting the stature of Egypt.

Abdel Dayem thanked President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for his rational political leadership that had the upper hand in confronting the COVID-19 crisis since its inception throughout this year in a way that helped a lot in accepting the challenge of holding the festival in Egypt, when most of the grandiose events in the world came to a halt, to assure to the world that by holding the festival, Egypt is victorious no matter how tough the circumstances can get.

Abdel Dayem extended her thanks and appreciation to Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly, for providing all the support to meet the challenges faced by the Ministry of Culture in holding major events.

The Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem also thanked the Egyptian Ministry of Health, which supervised the implementation of all precautionary measures to ensure the safety of everyone.

Honoring the famed writer Wahid Hamed - photo via Egypt's Min. of Culture

Abdel Dayem also thanked the Ministry of Interior for securing the festival and supporting it allowing it to appear in a decent manner in front of the entire world. She also thanked the festival’s entire team for accepting the challenge of holding the festival’s exceptional edition in such difficult times.

Furthermore, Abdel Dayem said that arts, including cinema, had, for months, succeeded in being an outlet for people, after the COVID-19 pandemic imposed a sudden house quarantine on the world, and watching movies and listening to music became a necessity for resilience and life.

Honoring Egypt's Diva Mona Zaki - Photo via Egypt's Min. of Culture

She added that today the 42nd Cairo International Film Festival kicks off, and the theaters and cinemas of the Egyptian Opera House begin to receive the cinema-loving audience, to watch the most important films of the world in 2020, which are accompanied by Egyptian guests from various countries, in a cultural scene that confirms that life will always triumph.

She explained that the 42nd edition comes to celebrate the film industry, and its ability to withstand in the face of the obstacles imposed by the pandemic, so that the wheel of production does not stop, and the light returns to the cinema after the darkness that has befallen the closure of theaters during the past months, an idea brilliantly expressed by the poster of the 42nd edition.

Abdel Dayem happy with holding this exceptional edition of CIFF - Photo via Egypt's Min. of Culture

She emphasized that the Egyptian state chose the challenge, with the return of life to normal, while fully adhering to the precautionary measures approved by the Egyptian Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, which are strictly applied by the Cairo Festival's team to ensure everyone's safety from exposure to the risk of contracting COVID-19.

For his part, the festival’s president Mohammed Hefzy explained that there is a strong will on the part of the Egyptian state to return to life again and for theater, cinema and cultural life to return as it was. He greeted everyone who participated in the current edition, headed by the Ministries of Culture and Health and the sponsors of the festival.

He added that this year, a number of international festivals were canceled due to the pandemic, and this was the challenge to establish this exceptional session, calling on everyone around the world to join hands to support the film industry at that difficult time.

Hefzy reviewed numerous messages from three heads of major international festivals, in which they expressed their support in holding the current session of the Cairo International Film Festival.