Egypt is to be this year’s guest of honour at the 19th Meknes International Animated Film Festival (FICAM), which will take place 20-25 March in Morocco.
The festival, which is organised by the Aicha Foundation in partnership with the French Institute of Meknes, is the biggest animation film festival in the region, attended by thousands of passionate animated film fans from around the world.
This edition celebrates the 85th anniversary of the release of the first Egyptian animation film, which will also be screened during the festival.
The latest Egyptian animation film, The Knight and the Princess, will be the opening film of the festival. Written and directed by Bashir El Deek, the film had its world premiere last year at the 3rd El-Gouna Film Festival.
A number of Egyptian animation films are also to be displayed during the festival as a part of reviving the history of animation in the Middle East. They include Mafish Fayda (There is No Hope) created in 1936, and Bilhana wel Shifaa (Have a Good Meal) produced in 1946.
An exhibition dedicated to the Frankel brothers, the pioneers of Egyptian animated cinema, whose filmography will be highlighted on this occasion, along with their 1930s character “Mish Mish Affendi.”
