The Luxor African Film Festival has unveiled the official poster for its 13th edition, which will take place from February 9th to 15th, 2024. The poster was designed by the renowned visual artist Mohamed Abla, with graphics by Mahmoud Ismail.
Mohamed Abla stated that through his design, he aimed to capture the spirit of Africa, filled with energy and vitality. The poster depicts an African young dancer moving forward, exuding vibrancy and powerful warm colors. It signifies a new beginning and a fresh start for the young Africa that has long suffered from neglect and exploitation.
The screenwriter Sayed Fouad El-Genary, founder and president of the festival, expressed his delight in collaborating with the renowned artist Mohamed Abla for the third time in the festival's history. Abla had previously designed the posters for the seventh and eighth editions. El-Genary mentioned that in this edition's poster, Abla creates a beautiful artistic composition that captures the essence of the African continent through its simplicity and profound expression of color, movement, and composition. He considers Mohamed Alba's posters for Luxor African Film Festival to be the most distinguished throughout the festival's journey from its first to its thirteenth edition, especially since Abla designed the festival's iconic symbol, which is embodied in the awards and trophies.
The poster for the thirteenth edition of the festival aligns with the chosen slogan, " All Colors of Africa." Azza El-Hosseiny, the festival's founder and director, describes it as representing the African continent, the largest continent in terms of cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity. She emphasizes that the slogan extends to all the festival's events, which encompass and embrace all Africans from around the world. Luxor becomes the capital of African cinema and a destination for all African filmmakers, expressing their dreams, arts, concerns, and issues.
It is worth mentioning that the thirteenth edition of the festival is named after the renowned director Khairy Beshara, one of the founders of the New Realism movement in Egyptian cinema. He is known for his distinctive narrative and documentary films that portray the concerns and dreams of ordinary Egyptians. His works have made a significant contribution to the history of Egyptian cinema. A book about him is being written by the film critic Essam Zakaria.
Additionally, the edition will be dedicated to the late Senegalese director Safi Faye, the first African woman director to make feature films in sub-Saharan countries. She focused on the lives of women and rural peasants in Senegal, creating films of exceptional quality and distinction. She was previously honored by the Luxor Festival, and a book about her is being prepared by the Senegalese writer Njib Sanya.
The Luxor African Film Festival is honorarily headed by the Egyptian actor Mahmoud Hemida, who believes in the festival's importance and the significant cinematic role it plays within the African continent.
The festival is organized by the Independent Shbab Foundation, which was the first nonprofit civil organization to establish a film festival in 2011. It is supported and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the Ministries of Tourism and Antiquities, Foreign Affairs, Youth and Sports, and with the sponsorship of the National Bank of Egypt. It also collaborates with the Luxor Governorate and the Cinema Professions Syndicate.
