This year's two biggest blockbusters, "El Gezira (The Island) and "Hena Maysara (In Better Times) dominated the 14th National Festival for Cinema awards on Wednesday. "The Island scooped the biggest number of prizes of Egypt's equivalent of the Oscars, winning five awards for best actor in a leading role (Ahmed El Sakka), best leading actress (Hend Sabry), best special effects and best score. Director Sherif Arafa received the second directing award and LE 75,000. The movie, which grossed more than LE 25 million in the local box-office, is based on a story about a dynasty of drug lords in Upper Egypt. "Hena Maysara , Khaled Yousef's controversial, unflinching melodrama about Egypt's unplanned housing quarters, won best film in addition to LE 150,000. Amr Abdel Galeel was named best supporting actor, while Hala Fakher won the best supporting actress prize. Director Khaled Youssef won the third directing prize and LE 25,000. Producers of the film have donated the monetary prize to the residents of Egypt's slums. Saad Hindawy won the prize for the best first or second work for "Alwan El Sama El Saba'a (The Seventh Heaven). The film centers on a romance between a middle-aged couple with a hidden, tormenting past. Revered filmmaker Mohamed Khan won the best director award for last year's sleeper hit "Fi Sha'et Masr El Gedida (In the Heliopolis Flat). Khan's spouse Wessam Soliman also won best script for the same film. The romantic comedy follows a young, idealistic lady from Upper Egypt as she attempts to find her missing former school teacher in Cairo. The most notable omission of the evening was, most certainly, Youssef Chahine's mega hit "Heya Fawda? (Is it Chaos?), which walked home empty-handed. Nearly 30 features, 45 short films, 20 animations and 26 documentaries, produced in 2007, were screened over a nine-day period between April 23 and 30. Press conferences accompanied each screening held at the Cairo Opera House and the Gumhuriya Theater. Themes that have surfaced in this year's works reflected the current turbulent social reality of the country from daring filmmakers and producers reaching out and speaking directly to the average Egyptian citizen. Addiction, unemployment, identity crisis, and decaying traditions took center stage this year. The awards for short films were given to different works created by directors possessing distinctive voices and visions. Karim Fanous' "Aydi Nazeefa (Dirty Soap, Clean Hands) tells the story of a cleaning man who struggles to break free from a monotonous job at ultra-posh bathrooms, carrying the burden of caring for his mother as he desperately attempts to pursue his fading dream. The audacious effort of Fanous to highlight the stinging reality of the city's forgotten inhabitants is let down by his polished lens, which fails to capture the essence of this reality. "Dirty Soap won the jury award for short films plus LE 8,000. Ahmed Khaled's "Ein El Samaka (Fish Eye), on the other hand, is an inconsequential examination of a lonely young man, leading a lethargic, alienated and unproductive life, spending most of his days trying to battle his insomnia and allowing his destructive, morbid thoughts to take him over. Khaled was awarded Shady Abdel Salam's award for a first work and LE 12,000. The original, quirky comedy "Hawass Al Omq (Obsession with Depth) by Osama El Abd won best short film and LE 12,000. The film revolves around a painter whose life goes haywire after a critic writes off her work, claiming that it lacks depth. An honorary award was given to Ramy Abdel Jabbar's "Ro'ya Shar'eya (Legal Vision). A common factor between most documentaries presented this year was that directors tackled controversial and sensitive issues. Noha El Maadawy's 150-minute long "Hawadeet Adeya (Ordinary Tales) is an authentic record of the experience of Egyptian families that have worked and lived in the Gulf. "Tales is the first film to focus on the first generation that left the country during the oil boom and the reaction of the second generation to the alienation and loss they were forced to endure following their parents' departure. Gamal Assem's "Tabeea Haya (A Living Reality) interviews two Egyptian art models from two different generations, who make a living from working in ateliers. The director was given the jury prize and LE 8,000. But the film saw many audience members and the panel discussion critics express their weariness with the subjects tackled during the screening. The entire debate about the film was summed up by one audience member who objected to the basic premise of allowing women to lie in the nude in front of a stranger for hours, regardless of the artistic purpose of the painter's work. Amal Magdoub won the award for best documentary over 15 minutes for her film, "Al Farq Baseet (A Slight Difference), which documents the lives of children born with genetic hereditary deficiencies. Honorary award went to Nadia Kamel's controversial, arthouse smash "Salata Baladi (Oriental Salad), while the Jury award was given to Lamya Ramadan's "Aberoon men Bany Israel ( Travelers from Israel). In the animation category, the Jury Award of LE 4,000 was given to director Ahmed Adel for "Dhakar We Onsa (Male and Female). The Jury Award of LE 8,000 was given to director Ahmed Mostafa for his film "Warda, while the award of LE 12,000 for best animated film was given to "Fadi Men Gowa (Empty Inside). A noticeable factor in this year's festival was the large number of entries by independent production houses. The one baffling aspect of the festival is the considerable monetary awards granted to multi-million grossing blockbusters. At a time when Egyptian dramas are reaping the financial rewards of a booming box-office and a prosperous, luxurious Arab film market, hardly any Egyptian production needs these insignificant bonuses that represent tiny fractions of the smallest of such productions. The logical question is this: Why can't the Ministry of Culture and the head of the festival Ali Abou Shadi utilize these monetary awards, which roughly amount to LE 1 million, to produce more short films and documentaries or grant them to independent filmmakers who continue to fight for support from the ministry?
