Hani Mustafa takes stock of the 34th International Cairo Film Festival (30 Nov-9 Dec) Since it started in 1967, the Cairo Festival has held a pioneering position in the Middle East, with other festivals in the region representing no real challenge with the exception of some Maghreb festivals -- Carthage, for example -- that had significant cultural value, but even then the competition was not so great. The situation in the 21st century has changed a great deal, however, with the emergence of festivals in the Gulf that aim to imbue their countries with international status despite the absence of a film industry in any of them. Yet some of these countries have managed to take the first step on the 1,000-mile journey towards cinematic culture: the Abu Dhabi and Dubai Festivals and the Tribeca festival in Doha. These events are increasingly in the limelight at a time when the Cairo Festival is paying more attention to form than content and thus going downhill. Indeed it seems this attention to form remains the driving force of the Cairo Festival administration. Lately the deputy president of the festival Soheir Abdel-Qadir announced to the press that the festival serviced the Ministry of Tourism by promoting the image of Cairo in the West, while in fact this should never be the principal objective of a film festival. Since the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, the Ministry of Culture has adopted a policy of promoting Egypt as a safe and secure destination to counter the effect of Islamist terrorist attacks targeting tourists. Noble as it may be, this orientation falls short of the cultural and artistic value expected of a film festival -- to showcase the latest in film and create an atmosphere of interest and debate, as well as promoting local and regional cinema for the benefit of production houses the world over and endorsing the kind of competition that supports the industry -- and an old and respected one at that. Such objectives might seem self- evident, but in many cases one element is prioritized over the others. This year, for example, it seemed as though the presence of celebrities was an aim in itself, and as such few important films were screened: no more than four or five. One such important films -- part of the substantial meal a festival audience should expect, and which was not provided this year -- was by the Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, starring Juliette Binoche who attended the opening ceremony. The film had been screened at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where Binoche received the Best Actress Award. It is very different from previous films by Kiarostami in that it eschews all things Iranian. Many of those interested in Iranian cinema feel that, since he is writing and directing a film about a society he does not know, Kiarostami must produce a weak film. Yet the first few minutes of the film are sufficient to dispel any such fears. revolves around James Miller (played by the British baritone William Shimell), a British writer who travels to a small town in Tuscany to give a lecture promoting his new book on the plastic arts. He meets Elle (Binoche), a French gallery owner who lives in Tuscony, and in his free time Miller is accompanied by Elle on an emotional journey in the town where they meet. A deeper perspective on the film reveals that its narrative structure is not all that different from other films by Kiarostami, which rely first and foremost on dialogue that seems so ordinary and uneventful the viewer hardly registers any dramatic buildup until they reach the end of the film to discover that a profound tale has been told. On their few hours-long journey, when one waitress mistakes Miller and Elle for husband and wife, the two characters play along with that idea, inventing a story they will enjoy for the duration of their time together. Kiarostami takes the game so seriously -- with moments of happiness and disagreements that go out of hand -- that the viewer suspects they have really been married, and in this sense it seems as though Kiarostami draws on psychodrama -- where the game helps both parties resolve their psychological issues. Because of his quiet approach to narrative, Kiarostami ends the film where he has started it, with each party returning to their ordinary life. Italy is no doubt among the most appropriate locations aesthetically and architecturally for such a story, but it is another film, The Big Dream by the Italian filmmaker Michele Placido that capitalises on that country's outdoor shooting opportunities; for her role in it Jasmine Trinca received the Marcello Mastroinanni Award for Best Acting at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. The film deals with the Student Movement at the end of the 1960s. It is a dramatically intelligent film, with a more or less classical conflict structure combined with innovative and unconventional directing in the way it depicts confrontations between rebellious students and security forces, for example. Yet it is the acting that is most striking, and no doubt the sense of nostalgia it communicates has played a role in this film success. The Vietnam War protests, the effect on European students of the assassination of Dr King and the violence with which they sometimes expressed their anger all constitute an important part of the film's impact: the Molotov cocktails, the vandalism etc. Remarkably it is the Medusa production company, owned by the extreme-right prime minister Berlusconi, that has produced this celebration of one of the Left's greatest moments. Time flies before the Cairo Festival, and every day it faces greater challenges. Most important among these, perhaps, is the emergence of festivals that fulfill its former role in more effective ways, which benefit from huge funds through which to draw in directors, producers and distributors. The Cairo Festival must concentrate on hosting a greater number of important, non- mainstream films. It cannot reduce to a red carpet with numerous stars but must be a true celebration of the silver screen. Will the Cairo Festival return to its former position as a regional hub of cinematic activity? Not while it resumes its present policy...
