Egyptian Nostalgia at Ismailia Film Festival

The 15th Ismailia International Festival for Documentary & Short Films is due to start from the 23rd to the 28th of June. It is organized by the National Center for Cinema, with AfricAvenir is official partner to the festival. Amir El Emry, film critic and president of Ismailia International Festival for Documentary & Short Films announced the launch of a new section within the upcoming round of the festival called Egyptian Nostalgia which will be dedicated to rediscover documentary and short films by prominent filmmakers at the very beginning of their film career.nEl Emry added that the main objective of that section is to start a dialogue between the different generations of filmmakers and shedding the light on documentary and short films by prominent directors. In addition, the new section will focus on restoring these films and making them available to be screened in culture centres and theatres in Egypt and abroad. Egyptian Nostalgia was born from the new vision of the festival that aims at giving films a longer life and giving them the chance to be screened multiple times throughout the year, broadening the scope and effect of the festival beyond its run.nThe films in the Egyptian Nostalgia section include The Watermelon, a short film by Mohamed Khan produced in 1969 as well as four documentary films by Daoud Abd El Sayed, El Mokayda (The Swap) by Atif El Tayeb, Hayah Gadida (A New Life) written by Raafat El Meehy and directed by Ashraf Fahmy, Toboul (Drums) by Said Marzouk and Meataf (Coat) by Housein Kamal.nIt is planned for the films selected for the new section to be converted into digital copies ready for screening at cultural centers and film festivals for free. 
A number of filmmakers were invited to attend discussion panels to be held after screening the films within the activities of the festival.nAfricAvenir’s board member Augetto Graig and chairperson of the Namibian section Hans-Christian Mahnke will be attending the festival. nFurther announcements and details will be shared in the near future and can also be seen here: http://www.ismailiafilmfest.com/ nAfricAvenir’s Graig and Mahnke will report to the film community about their impressions and experiences of the festival in beginning of July. Watch this space.