A Resurgence of Cinema Passion
Zakaria was overjoyed by the popular response to this year’s festival. "I’m a little bit taken aback by how much the crowd has come out this year," he admitted. Even the less popular movies were booked, and the crowds were eager to see them on the big screen. This enthusiasm has even spurred the addition of additional screenings to the program.
This year’s victory is even more poignant given the fact that the 2023 edition was postponed for humanitarian reasons in solidarity with the Palestinians. Despite the political landscape, Zakaria spoke of the festival’s ongoing importance as an international forum. This did not prevent us from conceiving of the festival as an international venue," he said. "We ultimately tried to make it an international festival."
A Truly Global Perspective
More than 200 films representing 73 countries made CIFF 2024 a truly international festival. Zakaria is especially proud of the festival’s inclusion of films from nations rarely represented in the mainstream. "We’ve got a lot of movies this year from many different nations... from far away and unknown to Egyptian audiences," he said.
This commitment to plurality goes further than defying censorship standards. Even as he noted the limits, Zakaria highlighted the festival’s ability to bargain with governments for access to films that could not otherwise be screened in public theatres. International festivals are not like this, he said. Quite a few films were turned down due to content this year, and CIFF’s focus on breaking boundaries and offering a broad variety of cinematic voices was evident this year.
Promoting Young Artists & Old School Movies.
Zakaria loves to help up-and-coming filmmakers. "Festivals are [a] playground for wannabe, emerging filmmakers," he said. This year’s line-up includes several first-time directors from Egypt, the Arab world and beyond.
In addition to fresh finds, CIFF celebrates cinematic masters. This year the festival hosts retrospectives of Satyajit Ray and Sergei Parajanov, in recognition of their storied legacy.
The Future is Here: A People’s Festival
Zakaria dreams of CIFF becoming even more an essential element of Cairo’s cultural identity in the future. He hopes to take the festival beyond the city centre, bring the cinema into the city’s suburbs and entice more people. He also wanted to investigate new kinds of theatre designs, like open-air theatres, to make a cinematic experience truly immersive.
A Collaborative Spirit
Zakaria called for a partnership between regional film festivals. Instead of seeing other festivals as competition, he sees them as collaborators in championing Arab cinema and film culture.I couldn’t agree more!
Quality and Accessibility: CIFF’s Commitment to Quality and Accessibility.
Zakaria and his staff are committed to bringing in quality films and releasing them to a wide range of audiences. They are constantly pushing distributors to lower screening fees and find new ways to fund themselves.
A Stable Voice for Egyptian Narratives
Zakaria was particularly interested in the representation of true Egyptian stories. He lauded the Egyptian film that was up for auction and praised its portrayal of a contemporary, cosmopolitan female character – something that foreign films rarely depict in Egypt.
The Cairo International Film Festival is back with a vengeance. Now run by Essam Zakaria, it’s still a vital source of film excellence, promoting and spreading a passion for movies in Egypt and abroad.