MIXED MESSAGES FOR FILM INDUSTRY: Questions over political motives behind the awards at last week's National Festival for Egyptian Cinema and a decision by the head of the Actors Union to limit opportunities for Arab actors in Egyptian films have focused attention on what has sometimes seemed a beleaguered industry, while a Paris tribute to the career of French film producer Humbert Balsan is drawing attention to the benefits of foreign cooperation in Egyptian cinema Of merits and demerits The National Festival for Egyptian Cinema closed last week with what seems to have been a set of politically motivated awards, writes Hani Mustafa Merit is supposed to be the main criterion for the selection of the award-winning films at any film festival, though merit is sometimes not enough to reap the top awards. Festivals are seldom free of political or other messages sent out by the organisers or by members of the jury. In 1997, for example, the special golden jubilee award of the Cannes Film Festival went to Youssef Chahine for what French actress Isabelle Adjani said at the awards ceremony was his "courageous stand" against Islamist activists who had attacked Chahine over his film Al-Muhajir (The Emigrant), a fictionalised version of the biblical story of Joseph. Also at Cannes, in 2004 the Palme d'Or went to American filmmaker Michael Moore for his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, which vehemently attacked the US administration over the invasion of Iraq one year before. Both theseawards were designed to send out clear messages independent of the artistic merit of the films concerned, and theNational Festival for Egyptian Cinema, which closed last week, is no exception to any other festival in respect of the desire among organisers and jury members to make statements through the choice of prize-winning films The film that reaped the festival's five top prizes, for example, was Heen Maysarah (Until Better Times),gathering the prizes forBest Film, Best Director,Best Male Supporting Role,Best Female Supporting RoleandBest Set, and there is a suspicion that these accolades were prompted in large part by the fierce debate this film has given rise to in the newspapers and on satellite TV channels. Perhaps even more important has been the attack on the film from Islamist activists like Professor Abdel-Sabour Shahin, who was also instrumental in the hisbacase against the academic Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd in 1995, declaring his marriage null and void on the grounds that he had committed apostasy. Upon the release of Heen Maysarah last year Shahin asked that an official investigation take place into all those involved in the film, accusing them of "promoting homosexuality and moral corruption." "American and Zionist hands" were behind the film and other works of the same sort, Shahin said, describing it as "deviant" and threatening social morality. However, it has not only been Islamists who have attackedHeen Maysarah: the film, directed by Khaled Youssef and scripted by Nasser Abdel- Rahman, has been seen as oppositional enough for it to be attacked both by those who ally themselves with the regime and with those who are allied to the conservative Islamist opposition. Though the film is certainly worth watching, it remains the case that it is primarily a kind of political statement, and this has been the source of the controversy and media interest that has swirled around it. In awarding Heen Maysarah the prizes for Best Film and Best Director, the festival jury was sending out a clear message against reactionary forces who want to curtail freedom of expression. In dealing with the inhuman conditions suffered by people living in informal housing areas, Heen Maysarah also condemns living conditions in Egypt in general. Indeed, one of the film's drawbacks is that it offers a kind of panorama of all the problems that have been dealt with in the news recently, including street children, the ministry of the interior's handling of alleged Al-Qa'eda infiltration, and the use of torture and threats of rape during police interrogations. Another film rewarded at the festival wasdirector Sherif Arafa's Al-Jazeera (The Island),which, though coming third in the Best Film category, received five other prestigious awards, including Best Actor (Ahmed El-Saqa), Best Actress (Hend Sabry), Best Cinematography, Best Special Effects and Best Score. This film, viewed by many critics as one of the most artistically executed Egyptian films of 2007, also has political overtones. Depicting the real-life story of Ezzat Hanafy, an arms and drugs dealer who led a fierce struggle against the security forces in Upper Egypt, Al-Jazeera shows the rise and fall of a man who at one time had strong connections with people inside the security apparatus. Hanafy was executed in 2006, after having been found guilty in a lengthy trial. The film about his life shows the alleged involvement of top-ranking police officers in creating such drugs barons. One of the characters in the film is a corrupt police officer who encourages the main character, played by Ahmed El-Saqa, to cooperate with the police in arresting suspected terrorists in return for the officer's turning a blind eye to his illegal arms and drugs trade. There is also a love story between the character played by El-Saqa and a pretty woman, played by Hend Sabry, in Romeo-and-Juliet fashion. While El-Saqa deserves his prize as this is probably the best role he has played to date, the same cannot be said about the otherwise highly gifted Hend Sabry. This is not one of her best roles, and she was not the most deserving actress in the competition. Many would agree that Ghada Adel's role in Shaqat Masr El-Gedida (The Heliopolis Flat) far surpassed Hend Sabry's performance in Al-Jazeera. It seems likely thatthe much-debated decision of the chairman of the Actors Union, Ashraf Zaki, to limit the participation of Arab actors in Egyptian productions had an influence on the jury's decision to give Hend Sabry the Best Actress award. This decision, limiting the participation of Arab or foreign actors in Egyptian films, affects Sabry, since she is a Tunisian national and is therefore targeted by Zaki's gesture. This has been condemned by many in the cinema industry, including the minister of culture, Farouk Hosni, who is currently negotiating with the Union to reverse the decision. Questions were raised in the entries in the festival's features category by the decision to exclude Youssef Chahine's Hiya Fawda (It is Chaos) from the running. Surely Khaled Saleh's performance in this film deserved an award? The political element in Hiya Fawda is not so very different from that found in Heen Maysarah, though Chahine's film presents the same problems in a more subtle way and is definitely more tightly scripted. Perhaps members of the jury thought that Youssef Chahine should be excluded from the competition, or perhaps the film was not included because 90% of the film was directed by Khaled Youssef, and not by Chahine, who has been suffering from illness. Whatever the case may be, there is no escaping the fact that at this year's festival political considerations were allowed to come at the expense of artistic merit. Director Mohamed Khan's Shaqat Masr El- Gedida is a clear example of this since although this film received the Second Best Film award, it was far superior to Heen Maysarah. Mohamed Khan and Ghada Adel also deserved the awards for Best Director and Best Actress, respectively. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Awards at the National Festival for Egyptian Cinema: Best Film: Heen Maysarah Best Actor: Ahmed El-Saqaa in Al-Jazeera Best Actress: Hend Sabryin Al-Jazeera Best Cinematography: Al-Jazeera Best Screenplay: Shaqat Masr El-Gedida Best Editing: Shaqat Masr El-Gedida Best Set: Heen Maysarah Best Score: Al-Jazeera Best Special Effects:Al-Jazeera Best Male Supporting Role: Heen Maysarah Best Female Supporting Role: Heen Maysarah Second Best Film: Shaqat Masr El-Gedida Third Best Film: Al-Jazeera Ghada Adel in Shaqat Masr El-Gedida
