The Egyptian film Hepta: The Last Lecture scooped up the Audience Award at the 21st Annual Arabian Sights Film Festival in Washington, which ran this year between 21 and 30 October. According to a press release issued 2 November by MAD Solutions, a Cairo-based company that specialises in distribution, public relations and marketing for the film and entertainment industry, Hepta also had two full-house screenings at the festival. The film was a big box office success upon its release in Egyptian cinemas in April 2016, surpassing 27 million EGP in revenue, and becoming the highest-grossing romantic film in the history of Egyptian cinema. Hepta is based on a novel with the same title, adapted for the screen by Wael Hamdy, who is also known for authoring the screenplay for Mikano (2009). Hepta – which means seven in Greek – takes the audience on a journey to the worn-out world of love, where a social psychologist traces the seven stages of the emotion: the beginning, the encounter, the relationship bond, the wakefulness, the truth, which is followed by the decision, and then the ending, or the Hepta stage. It blends four different love stories that experience the different stages between crises and pleasures. The film is directed by Hadi El-Bagoury, whose previous major works include Wahed Saheeh (2011) and the thriller Warda (2014). It stars a number of prominent Egyptian actors, including Maged El-Kedwany, Ahmed Malek, Ahmed Dawood, Dina El-Sherbiny, Yasmine Raeis, Jamila Awad, Amr Youssef, Hany Adel, Ahmed Bedeir, Salwa Mohamed Aly, Kinda Alloush, as well as singer-actress Anoushka. Following its premiere in Egypt, Hepta was released in other Arab countries – UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman – last May. The film recently competed for the Best Feature Film Award at the 6th Malmo Arab Film Festival in Sweden, held this year between 30 September and 5 October. It also participated in the Anab d'Or in the Feature Film Competition at the 2nd Mediterranean Film Festival of Annaba (FAFM) in Algeria, and screened at the Arab Camera Festival in Rotterdam. The Annual Arabian Sights Film Festival is organised by the Washington DC International Film Festival and aims to “showcase a growing number of quality films made by talented young Arab filmmakers, exploring issues facing Arab societies.” For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
