The Spanish film festival, which will continue until 10 June, premiered with the powerful Celda 211 (Cell 211), with the added bonus of a speech by the translator who wrote the subtitles Ever watch a subtitled movie and guffaw in your seat when you read one of the translations? “What in the world was the translator thinking when they wrote that subtitle?” you think to yourself. This Spanish film series has the unique trait that the translator shows their face before the movie starts. The translators are scholars in their language and take pride in the work they put forth on the screen, adding a more serious and academic dimension to subtitling. The premiere for the Spanish film festival included a brief introduction from the Spanish embassy, stating their commitment to the project. The leader of the subtitling project, Arabic studies scholar and professor at the Cairo University Alberto Canto García, reciprocated with warm thanks. The highlight was a brief explanation from the translator, Mark Gamal, who subtitled the full-feature film on the reasoning behind some of his decisions - this in stark contrast to the many films that are translated without any pride behind them. Award-winning films of new Spanish cinema - which is internationally acclaimed for their thought, attention to detail and, intense, high quality directing and acting are currently playing at the Creativity Centre in the Cairo Opera House every day until 10 June 2011. All films are free and start at 18:30. The remaining films in the programme: Tuesday 7 June - 18:30h CAMINO [The Path] Genre: Drama Length: 142 min Director: Javier Fesser Year: 2008 Subtitled by: Mary Mohareb and Shereen El Banna ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wednesday 8 June - 18:30h EL VIAJE DE CAROL [Carol's Journey] Genre: Drama Length: 104 min Director: Imanol Uribe Year: 2002 Subtitled by: Hanady Mandouh and Marwa Helmy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thursday 9 June - 18:30h EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS [The Secret of His Eyes] Genre: Drama Length: 144 min Director: Juan José Campanella Year: 2009 Subtitled by: Shady El Mashak ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Friday 10 June - 18:30h TESIS [Thesis] Genre: Terror Length: 144 min. Director: Alejandro Amenabar Year: 1996 Subtitled by: Marwa Helmy and Hanady Mamdouh
