The Malmo Arab Film Festival (MAFF) will kick off its ninth edition on 4 October, screening around 120 feature, short and documentary Arab films from across the globe, with Egyptian feature film Youm W Leila (A Day and a Night) to be screened at the closing ceremony on 8 October amid the Gala screening programme. "I am glad the premiere will be at such a cinema event. I am looking forward to immediately receiving feedback from filmmakers, critics and hopefully foreign audience as well," director Ayman Makram, 51, told Ahram Online on Thursday before flying to Sweden. One Day, One Night 1
Starring many famous actors like Khaled El-Nabawy, Ahmed El-Fishawy, Dorra, Hanan Metaweh and Khaled Sarhan, Youm W Leila explores key social issues thousands of ordinary Egyptians face in their daily lives through a day and a night of the film's main characters, who live in the large Cairo neighbourhood of Sayeda Zainab. "I had been aiming to make a realistic film like Youm W Leila for almost 20 years. I tried to create an artistic quality in a commercial attractive way," the director of 2017's Akhlaa El-Abid added. After its Tuesday's world premiere, the 108-minute film, written by Yehia Fekry and produced by Remon Youssef, will be in theatres in Egypt and other Arab countries soon. "The film allows the viewer to taste real life in Egypt, the way it is, without stereotyped clichés or falsely decorated propaganda," expressed the Minya-born former journalist, TV producer and director, whose debut was Khaleek Fi Halak (Mind Your Business) in 2017. Egyptian films participating in Malmo Film Festival THE GUEST Including Youm W Leila, 11 Egyptian films are participating in the Malmo Arab Film Festival in its different programmes, most of which are important productions from the last year. Leil Khargi (NIGHT/EXT), starring Karim Kassem and Mona Hala and directed by Ahmad Abdalla, is competing in the feature film segment alongside Hadi El-Bagoury's El-Deif (The Guest), written by prominent journalist Ibrahim Eissa and starring Ahmed Malek, Khaled Elsawy and Shereen Reda. NIGHT/EXT Documentary film 'El-Shoghla' (The Profession) directed by Ramez Youssef and produced by Mohamed Rashad is competing in the documentary section with Amir El-Shenawy's Kilo 64. THE PROFESSION Three Egyptian films are participating in the short competition; Tamer Ashry's Eyebrows, Nouran Sherif's Extra Safe, and Adam Abdel-Ghaffar's Fork and Knife, which stars Menna Shalaby, Eyad Nassar and Asser Yassin. FORK & KNIFE Two important Egyptian films are participating in the special screening programme; the first-ever Arab-made animated film, Al-Fares W Al-Amira (The Knight and the Princess), by Basheer El-Deek and Ibrahim Musa, and award-winning Yomeddine by director A. B. Shawky. THE KNIGHT AND THE PRINCESS Moreover, Marwan Hamed's Torab El-Mas (Diamond Dust), based on the best-selling novel by Ahmed Mourad and starring Aser Yassin and Menna shalaby, will be screened in the Arabian Nights programme. DIAMOND DUST Founded in 2001 by Egyptian Mohamed Keblawi, the Malmo Arab Film Festival is "an intercultural meeting place, a place for discourse and bridge-building between people and cultures that works as an intercultural platform for diversity and tolerance and offers a meeting ground for the Nordic and Arab film industries." YOMEDDINE One of the largest film Arab cinema festivals outside the Arab world, the Malmo Arab Film Festival hosts many parallel activities including panoramas, retrospectives, special screenings, workshops, seminars and celebrations, in addition to the MAFF Market Forum, "an industry forum for collaboration between the Nordic and Arab industries." 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
