The Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre came to an end Monday evening with a formal celebration at the Main Hall of the Cairo Opera House. Following the distribution of awards was the acknowledgment of Festival Honorees, actors and directors of distinction from 10 different countries. The Honorees were Baz Kershaw from the UK; Oliver Kemeid, Canada; Ali Mahdi, Sudan; Fatheya Assal, Egypt; Abdel Qader Al Badawi, Morocco; Sami Khashaba, Egypt; Rolando H. Jaime, Cuba; Michele Broner, France; Mahmoud Azmi, Egypt; Marilu Prati, Italy; Wojciech Wysocki, Poland and Lee Bruer from the USA. Prizes were awarded as follows: Best Ensemble Work: "Khalte Safiya wel Deir (Aunt Safia and the Monastery) (Egypt) Best Performance: "Grasping the Floor with the Back of my Head (Denmark) Best Director: Khaled Galal for the production "Ahwa Sada (Unsweetened Coffee) (Egypt) Best Actress: Rama Issa for "Laila and The Wolf (Syria) Best Actor: Abdel-Sattar Al-Basri and Yehia Ibrahim for "SUB-ZERO (Iraq) Best Scenography: "SUB-ZERO (Iraq) It wouldn't be CIFET if some of the most important prizes did not go to Egyptian productions. But apart from these expected gestures of self-congratulation, however, the jury still managed to honor the festival's most important works. The political and sublime impact of Iraq's "SUB-ZERO - a tragicomic production about the horrors of war - was a widely shared viewpoint among CIFET audiences. The selection of the Danish "Grasping the Floor with the Back of My Head - a multi-media super-spectacle integrating text, music and movement - marked a formal openness to a highly evocative yet non-literal dance theater piece. Best actor nominee Francios Abu Salem of Palestine deserved acknowledgment for his mesmerizing performance, slated among many as equal in presence to the Iraqi winners. Nominee "The Legend of a Hero (China) for Best Scenography would have been my choice for winner in the category. All in all however, one can't disagree with many of the jury's selections, and particularly support their honoring of Rama Issa and the splendid actors of "SUB-ZERO. What followed the awards ceremony was the presentation of Khaled Galal's "Unsweetened Coffee - a collection of easy laughs, often delivered in strong form, about the death of Egyptian culture that has been criticized for not saying anything new or insightful about the subject despite its undeniable entertaining value. The reason why the winner of Best Director prize should be performed in the closing ceremony was due to fact that the Danish recipients of Best Performance were already flying home that morning. So, in the red velvet atmosphere of the large hall "Unsweetened Coffee was the final presentation of the 2008 Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theater. For our full June review of "Unsweetened Coffee, please visit http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=14658
