A genre that has not received the attention it deserves is being let out of the closet. Osama Kamal reports on a new phase for short films No matter how much artistry goes into them, documentaries and short films remain the poor cousins of feature films. Here in Egypt they are confined to a narrow circle of viewers, most coming from the industry itself. However, this is about to take a turn as Noura Amin, director of the Four Cities Festival, an event encompassing Cairo, Alexandria, Minya, and Port Said, takes 25 short films on the road. The films were made by young artists who entered the festival. All 25 hail from the four cities, and all are aged under 35 years. Amin used an original formula for screening the entries: the films produced in one city would be exhibited in another to enable creative artists to reach a wider audience. The event is financially supported by Kayan, a Jordanian organisation involved in theatre, cinema, fine arts, music and literature. The festival also received the support of the Saad Zaghlul Cultural Centre in Cairo; the Goethe Institute in Alexandria; the Jesuit Centre in Minya; and the Mubarak Library in Port Said. President of the judging panel was the young director Saad Hendawi, while other members of the panel were actors Khaled Saleh, Khaled El-Sawi and script writer Azza Shalabi. Saad Hendawi's most recent feature films are Halet Hobb (State of Love) (2004), Abwab al-Sama al-Sabaa (The Seven Gates of Heaven) (2008) and Al-Saffah (The Serial Killer) (2010). Before directing for mainstream cinema Hendawi made several short films, including Zeyara Fil Kharif (An Autumn Visit) (1995), Yawm al-Ahad al-Aadi (An Ordinary Sunday ) (1996) and Al-Mashhad al-Akhir (Last Scene) (1998). He is the winner of 12 international film awards. Khaled Saleh and Khaled El-Sawi are highly acclaimed actors. Saleh has appeared repeatedly at the Hanager Theatre, while Sawi is famous for experimenting with several forms of art. With their wide range of experience, Saleh and Sawi bring a fresh outlook to cinematic art. Azza Shalabi is an accomplished screen writer, having written the scripts for Asrar al-Banat (Girl Secrets) and Mafish Gheir Keda (Nothing Else ), which both address the decay of the middle classes and its skewed vision of women. The Four Cities Film Award for Short Fiction Films went to Rabie '89 () by Itan Amin. Produced by the National Cinema Centre in 2009, Rabie '89 takes place in the late 1980s and records the final scenes in the breakdown of the Egyptian middle class. It tells the story of two girls, Sara and Camellia. Sara lives in an imaginary world and dates an imaginary boyfriend. Camellia, who believes her friend's tales, longs to date the same imaginary man. This yarn of lies and delusion is based on a story by Ahdaf Soueif. Rabie '89 was shown at 10 international festivals and won awards at the Alexandria Film Festival in 2009. Itan Amin studied film at the Art Lab at the American University in Cairo. She has produced two documentary films: one on the history of oriental dance in Egypt, Orqos Li (Dance for Me), and the other on the late actress Madiha Kamel. Her short fiction film Ragelha (Her Man) (2005) concerns the revenge of a working class woman on the husband who leaves her for another woman. The Documentary Film Award went to Athena (Athens) by Mark Lotfi. This is the tale of the mythical Athena, goddess of wisdom, art, and war. Lotfi explores modernity through the eyes of Athena, entering into profound discussions with various Egyptian women from diverse walks of life. The film was shown at the Mubarak Library in Port Said. Mark Lotfi is a producer, writer, director and film editor. Born in Alexandria in 1981, he graduated from the College of Engineering at Alexandria University before studying film with Islam El-Azari at the Jesuit Cultural Centre. His 2007 graduation project, a short film called Minerva, was soon followed by Terahen (You Bet), which won a bronze at the Sawi Culture Wheel and a special appreciation certificate from the tenth Independent Cinema Festival. Islam Kamal won a Special Appreciation Certificate for his documentary filmed in Siwa Oasis, Shal Ghali (Expensive Shawl). Emad Maher won a similar award for his five-minute film Atef, in which he combined graphics with film. Atef, which cost just LE350 ($60) to make, tells the story of a boy and girl who fall in love while waiting for a man named Atef. The love story is disrupted by the arrival of Atef himself Salma Ghobrial won a Special Appreciation Certificate for her short fiction film Malal (Boredom ). Another film of interest was the documentary film Taht al-Ard (Underground ) by Ahmed Rahhal, which records the story of rap and hip hop groups around the country. This is Rahhal's second film in a series aspiring to document various types of local music. The short fiction film Malak Hanem (Lady Malak ) by Mohamed Fathallah addresses the issue of violence against women, rich and poor, through the story of a woman doctor and her maid. This is the first time the Festival of Four Cities has been held in Egypt. The festival organisers aim to diversify the cities and increase their number in future events. Amin says that the next multiple-city film festival will include Amman and Amsterdam.
