CAIRO: After 10 days, more than 70 films, various heated press conferences and one strange seminar, the festival has finally come to an end with the little matter of the awards still to be announced. Throughout the history of the festival, a certain number of criteria have always guided different juries to choose the Golden Pyramid winner. Political significance and relevance to both the jury members and Egyptian politics in general has always been the primary incentive for granting the award. The 'humanistic value' of the film, or, in other words, its tearjerker potential, is another major seminal factor. And then there s the occasional Thank You nod to Egypt by giving a major or a minor award to the host nation. After interviewing an array of critics and different festival experts, The Daily Star Egypt compiled a list of films that would most probably end up raking the awards of the 30th Cairo International Film Festival. The clear winner for the Golden Pyramid is the Brazilian film Zuzu Angel which received its fair share of acclaim. All critics have singled out Zuzu before the festival even started and the reasons are clear: the film has a political message in its core, a true story and a set of noble emotions and ideas. In addition, it s the most watched non-Egyptian film in the competition. The Special Jury Prize, also called the Silver Pyramid, should be awarded to the Argentinean film La Velocidad Funda el Olvido (Speed Begets Oblivion). Speed has been regarded as the best film in the festival, but it s a challenging film that needs a little patience and an understanding for its high cinematic value, a critic affiliated with the festival told The Daily Star Egypt. He added: But the head of the jury is Argentinean and that might oblige other jury members to acknowledge its merits and win the Silver Pyramid. The Saad El Din Wahba Prize for best script is a sure bet for Hala Khalil s Cut and Paste. The film is inarguably the best of the three Egyptian films participating in the main competition. As for best director, our hat is tipped in favor of Argentinean Marcelo Schapces. Another festival affiliated critic told The Daily Star Egypt that if Speed fails to win the Golden or Silver pyramid, it ll at least win best direction. Schapces s direction has won him unanimous commendation from even the fiercest dictators of the film. The Naguib Mafouz prize for best first or second work for a director is very likely to be given to Emad El-Bahhat s first feature Hide & Seek. The film got a lukewarm reception from most critics, including The Daily Star Egypt staff; but the jury might like to award El-Bahhat for his effort and Egyptian jury members Khaled El-Nabawy and Kamla Abu Zekry might influence other members to grant El-Bahhat the honor. With no strong competition this year, Spanish Sergi Mateu s performance in The Last Gaze where he plays an artist trying to cope with his loss of vision will is a strong contender for the best actor award. Only Egyptian Khaled Abol Naga s gripping performance of the Muslim neighbor of a paranoid unemployed American man in the Canadian film Civic Duty , could pose a slight threat for Mateu. However, Abol Naga s screen time is not big enough to qualify him for the best actor award. As for the Best Actress Prize, Patricia Pillar is certain to win for her much-talked-about lead role in Zuzu. The whole film rested on Pillar s dazzling performance of a fashion designer who fearlessly battles the government after her revolutionary son is assassinated by the military dictatorship. Pillar embodies the numerous, different emotional phases of Zuzu and the festival s jury members, throughout the years, have always sympathized with brave, grieving mothers. The award for best music score is hard to predict since the musical taste of the jury members might differ from another, but Omar Khairat s score for the Egyptian film None But That might end up winning, especially since the distinguished composer has never won before. Cinematography is another tricky category to forecast. However, the Iranian film Somewhere too Far left a substantial impression on critics and jury members in any festival always like to encourage Iranian films. And lastly, China s The Road seems on its way to winning Best Art Direction.
