Egyptian Winners at DIFF - The Muhr Arab Awards

Rhapsody in Autumn: Shawky, a 60 year old man wakes up one day with the choice of celebrating life and living it to the full, regardless of the consequences.

Shorts: 2^nd prize: Aida El Kashef (Rhapsody in Autumn)

Aida El Kashef graduated from the High Cinema Institute in 2009. Assistant director on several short and feature films, she’s also directed her own shorts and documentaries. She is the daughter of late director Radwan El Kashef.

Asafeer El Nil: Cairo is called the adventurous cosmopolitan capital of a lifetime where all dreams come true. Cairo is a destination for many Egyptians from the countryside in search for a better life. But the reality is often much harsher than their dreams. A countryside guy discovers the ugly face of Cairo as the city turns him into one of its many victims. A gripping illustration of how the structure of the Egyptian society has changed with the slow disappearance of the middle class. Actor Fathy Abdel Wahab received a Best Actor award for this film at the CIFF 09.

Best Editor: Ahmed Dawood (Asafeer El Nil [The Nile Birds])

Wahed-Sefr: A massive critical hit, reminiscent of the classic era of Egyptian cinema, Kamla Abu Zekry's delightful and fast-paced film is ostensibly about the excitement generated by the 2008 African Nations Cup Final. However, as the eight main protagonists, drawn from across all strata of Cairene society demonstrate, the football-crazy city exerts a pervasive effect on a kaleidoscopic array of characters. From an alcoholic TV celebrity to a devout Christian lady, each of the protagonists deal with their own particular problems against a colorful backdrop of contemporary Cairo, a city which thrills, maddens and inspires its inhabitants with its unique and kaleidoscopic character.

Best Screenplay: Mariam Naoum (Wahed-Sefr [One-Zero])

Best Cinematographer: Nancy Abdel Fattah (Wahed-Sefr [One-Zero])

Nancy Abdel Fattah has gained popularity with her cinematographic success. Her other works include “El Banat Dol (These Girls),” and “Fi Shaket Masr el Gedida (In The Heliopolis Flat),” which were both recognized at the DIFF in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

The rising script writer, Mariam Naoum, has written many screenplays that have created quite a stir not only in Egypt. In her stories, she paints an intimate, slightly disjointed, portrait of today’s Egyptian society while tackling a number of pressing issues.