Samir Sabry Is the Best Actor… Egypt Wins 3 Awards… Tunisian Film “Communion” Wins the Best Long Narrative Award
Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF) announces its awards at Luxor Culture Palace. Moroccan announcer and artist, Wafaa Meras presented the closing ceremony in the presence of: LAFF’s Chairman scriptwriter Sayed Fouad, LAFF’s Director Azza El-Housseiny, Deputy Governor of Luxor Mr. Mohamed Abd El-Qader, and LAFF’s Honorary President star Mahmoud Hemdia.
Before announcing the awards, LAFF honored Uganda, as the guest of honor country, and Ugandan director, Maurice Mugisha received the award. Additionally, African cinema expert, Tunisian director Férid Boughedir was honored during the closing ceremony.
Regarding LAFF’s awards, they are as follows: “The Gravedigger’s Wife” (Somalia) by director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed won the International Critics Award “FIPRESCI”, and director Madamadou Socrates received the award. “Batool” (Egypt) by director Mohamed Zahran won the Best Film Representing Women Award.
Furthermore, the Independent Youth Foundation Award goes to “No. 2, Talaat Harb” (Egypt) by director Magdy Ahmed Ali. LAFF General Secretary, critic and producer Farouq Abd El-Khaleq and Treasurer, interior designer Wael Samy handed over the award.
Concerning the short film competition, the awards are as follows: special mention “Sixteen Rounds” (Uganda) by director Loukman Ali, and the Best Short Film Award goes to “Tender Threads” (Morocco) by director Ouijdane Khaled.
As for the long documentaries, the special mention goes to “the Last Shelter” (South Africa) by director Ousmane Samassekou. The Jury Special Award goes to “Morning Star” (Madagascar) by director Nantenaina Lova, and Stanley Ohikoar received the award. The Best Long Documentary Award goes to “Faya Dayi” (Ethiopia) by director Jessica Beshir, and director Loukman Ali received the award.
The first award of the “Diaspora” goes to “As Far As I Can Walk” (Serbia) by director Stefan Arsenijevi? and the second award goes to “A Brighter Tomorrow” (Algeria) by director Yassine Qnia. Concerning the long documentaries competition, the awards are as follows: special mention for “the Agreement” (Cameroon) by director Lea Malle Frank Thierry, and best actor special mention for veteran Egyptian actor Samir Sabry for “No. 2, Talaat Harb”, and the film team received the award on his behalf. The Jury Award goes to “the Gravedigger’s Wife” (Somalia) by director Khadar Ahmed, and Amideh Bekoum received the award. Eventually, the Best Long Narrative Award (2000 $) -presented by the family of late veteran actor Mahmoud Abd El-Aziz- goes to “Communion” (Tunisia) by director Nejib Belkadhi and the film distributor Lina Refaai received the award on his behalf.
