Egypt's National Theatre Festival closed on 3 August after a two-week run with an award ceremony at the Cairo Opera House to honour the best entries. The first prize, worth EGP 35,000, was won by a play called Snow White, which scored a clutch of awards, including best director and best actress. The play Drama El-Shahateen also did well, scooping second best play and best rising director. “Through theatre we can shape humanity and its cultural and artistic conscience, and all of the organisations that took part in the festival are working to achieve that,” said festival director Ismail Mokhtar during the ceremony. Hassan Attia, the festival's president, noted how the festival has grown. “The festival was not limited to the official competition, but this year we had more parallel events, including for the first time the Children's Theatre Symposium, as well as the competition for the poster, and audience surveys that helps us understand them better,” he said, describing the events as “two successful weeks.” The head of the festival's jury, Samira Abdelaziz, said that “the increase in the number of local plays is testament that Egypt's theatre is thriving, and our youth are creating good works, be they university students or amateurs who are pursuing their passion.” Awards: First prize for best play: Snow White Second prize for best play: Drama El-Shahateen Special jury award and best ensemble performance: Khaled Galal, director, for Salem Nafsak Best director: Mohsen Rizk for Snow White Best rising director: Mohamed El-Rakh for Drama El-Shahateen Best actor in starring role: Alaa Qouqa for Mesafer El-Leil Best actress in starring role: Marwa Abdelmoneim for Snow White Best actor in supporting role: Amgad El-Haggar for Salem Nafsak Best actress in supporting role: Samia Atef for El-Saa El-Akhira Best rising male star: Mohamed Nasef for Drama El-Shahateen Best rising female star: Rana Khattab for Drama El-Shahateen Best music: Walid El-Shahawy for Illiad Best set design: Amr Abdallah for Qalaet El-Mot Best costume design: Naema Agamy for Snow White Best Light design: Amr Abdallah for Qalaet El-Mot Best choreography: Sally Ahmed and Monadel Antar for Qalaet El-Mot Best drama written for theatre: Mahmoud Gamal El-Hadeiny for Segn Ekhteyary Best scriptwriting: Hamdy Zidan for Lesa Basaal Best rising scriptwriter: Alaa Kashef for Studio Appreciation award for best poetry written for theatre: Khaled El-Shibany for Snow White Appreciation award for Arabic language proficiency: Mesafer El-Leil Appreciation award for best visual effects: Reda Salah for Iliad Hazem Azmy award for best critical writing: Two winners Bassem Adel Abdel Tawab and Ahmed Mohamed El-Sherif 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
