Under the slogan (Cinema … Many Lives to Live)
Luxor African Film Festival president, screenwriter Sayed Fouad, announced LAFF’s decision to honor Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun during its eighth edition for his contributions to African cinema that tackled the issues, dreams and worries of Africa, presenting them to the world, raising the status of African cinema internationally, and realizing this edition’s slogan “Cinema … Many Lives to Live”.
Haroun in the very first film director from Chad, and today, he’s considered to be one of the greatest African filmmakers of all time. He started working as a journalist in France in 1982 after finishing his studies of film and journalism. Since the beginning of his film career in 1991, his short films revealed a great talent. His feature debut «Bye Bye Africa» (1999), which was the very first feature film to ever be produced in Chad, won the best first feature film award at Venice. His third feature «Dry Season» (2006) won the Grand Special Jury Prize in Venice. «A Screaming Man» (2010) which is an autobiography, won the Jury Prize in Cannes, making Haroun the first Chadian director not only to be selected, but also to win an award in the main Cannes competition. He was also a member of the jury for the competition in Cannes in 2011. He was recently Minister of Culture of Chad until he resigned from the position.
Director Azza Elhosseiny, LAFF’s director, has also announced the decision to honor the Tunisian producer Dorra Bouchoucha for her contribution in creating a Tunisian New Wave through her works, ideas and activities within the field, as well as the script development which she supervises.
Dora Bouchoucha is a prominent awarded Tunisian producer. After getting her degree in English literature from the French Sorbonne, she started her career as a film producer since 1994, working on Tunisian and foreign films that were often selected in major festivals like Venice, Cannes and Berlin. Among them, «Sabria» by Abderrahmen Sissako, «Season of Men» by Moufida Tlatli, «Baraket» by Jamila Sahraoui and «Satin Rouge» by Raja Amari. Bouchoucha also created a workshop associated with Carthage Film Festival (JCC) in 1992 and the Script Development Workshop Sud Ecriture in 1997. She has also served for more than ten years at CineMart of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), a consultant at Venice Film Festival for Arab and African films (2007-2011) and the director of JCC (2008-2010 and 2014).
The festival is also honoring the Burkinabé director Fanta Régina Nacro, celebrating the role of African women in the film industry. Régina received a degree in audiovisual science and techniques from institut africain d’éducation cinématographique (INAFEC) in 1986, then a Master’s Degree in Film and Audiovisual Studies from the Sorbonne and also a PhD in education. Nacro was the first woman to work as an assistant director to Idrissa Ouedraogo during the shooting of The Choice. As a director, her short film Un Certain Matin (1992), was awarded The Silver Tanit at Carthage Film Festival. Nacro then produced a number of short films, often taking a humorous perspective on the traditions of her country and the complexity of relations between tradition and modernity. Her film Buchi that was produced within a series of films titled Mother Africa to acknowledge women’s contribution in society, won over twenty prizes in various international film festivals including FESPACO. In 2004, she wrote and directed La Nuit de la Verité, her feature debut.
Luxor African Film Festival is held and organized by Independent Shabab Foundation with support and sponsorship by the Ministries of Culture and Tourism, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Governorate of Luxor, the Syndicate of Cinematic Professions and the media sponsor, dmc TV Network.
