(Photo by Omar El Adl)
Last weekend witnessed the finale of the Sixth European Film Panorama, a highly anticipated event featuring Tunisian singer Ghalia Benali. The Panorama Festival has continued to grow over the years and has developed a passionate following. We observe this phenomenon and state the case for making this event a more permanent fixture of the Egyptian cultural scene.
“I think the fact that it takes place in cinemas is important. It makes it a lot richer,” said Andre de Margerie, director of international relations at Arte France . Arte France is a Franco-German television network which produces 60 features annually . This year Film Panorama, featured three films produced by the network; Salvo, Circles and My Sweet Pepper Land.
Other events, such as the Cairo International Film Festival, sometimes receive more local press, however they fail to illicit the same enthusiasm the Film Panorama has gained over the years.
“People have shown year after year that there is demand to see these films in the cinema, and we always focus on the audience. We refuse to show any films that have been cut ,” said Youssef El-Shazly, general coordinator of the Film Panorama.
The experience of going to films in the cinema is one of the things the organisers say sets the Film Panorama apart. El-Shazly laments the absolute lack of European and international films in Egyptian cinemas, he further attributes the success of the festival to its role filling this void.
“The Panorama started with its core selection of European films and has expanded but there is no other outlet for this kind of cinema in Egypt. We have continued adding sections such as Emerging Directors and this year we added Zawya, a series of independent film screenings to take place throughout the year and, which will have a life beyond the nine days of the Panorama,” El-Shazli said.
EL-Shazli says Zawya will be widely available, not restricted by region, and hopes it will provide a steady selection of high-quality cinema all year long. El-Shazli says audiences can expect the first events in early 2014.
For De Margerie, the Panorama is an important cultural event that fosters an international dialogue.
“It is not the first time Arte has participated, but it is my first time to attend,” he said. “The Panorama has a brilliant selection of films, and my experience has been great. It is nice to see European and Egyptian cinema in one place and I think there is a strong interest in European cinema.”
“European films are not shown very often here and I think European cinema is diverse enough to show that we, as audiences, have similar values but are also different. What is better than cinema to show us this?” he added.
For now lacking alternatives, audiences will have to wait until next year for the Seventh European Film Panorama. However organisers and audiences alike are hopeful that events like Zawya will rise to fill the gap.
