The 42nd session of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) opens today at 7 pm, amid strict precautionary measures, and in accordance to the requirements presented by the Egyptian ministry of health and the World Health Organization. The festival's management stresses following all precautions to avoid the spreading of Covid-19. Among the procedures taken is providing a free PCR test for each guest that will take part in the event's opening ceremony. The festival's president, producer and screenwriter, Mohamed Hefzy, expressed his happiness and pride in regard to all the work done by the team of CIFF despite the challenges that come with the coronavirus pandemic. Hefzy added that the 42nd CIFF presents an outstanding program with 84 films carefully representing the latest and most important productions of 2020. Among the films, 20 of them have had their international or world premiere. Apart from screenings, the festival will hold the 3rd edition of Cairo Industry Days between 4 and 7 December, shedding light on a number of industrial film and TV-related issues and featuring prominent names from the Arab world as well as worldwide. Beyond the talks and masterclasses, the activities of Cairo Industry Days this year shall encompass discussion panels, featuring prominent industry professionals. Cairo Industry Days provides an important space for discussions, networking, meetings, workshops, masterclasses, and partnership opportunities between Arab talents and regional or international key industry professionals to further support Arab Cinema. This comes in parallel with organising other activities within CIFF that will present more than $250,000 worth of standard and monetary awards to 15 competing Arab films. The activities will also include the Cairo TV Pitch Forum that will be held in collaboration with Middle East Media Initiative (MEMI), the Creative Production Workshop and Film Independent. Cairo Industry Days is the industry platform of CIFF that had been launched during the 40th edition of the festival in partnership with the Arab Cinema Centre. The CIFF opening ceremony will be broadcasted live on the DMC channel. During the event, Egyptian screenwriter Waheed Hamed will be honored alongside British screenwriter and director Christopher Hampton, as well as the artist Mona Zaki who will receive the Faten Hamama Award for Excellence. For the opening, the festival chose the British-French drama film The Father, co-written and directed by Florian Zeller. The film will have its Middle East and Africa premiere. 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
