* Lebleba: I'm proud to be payed tribute in my home country in appreciation of my long career in the arts, and I thank LAFF.
* Asser Yassine: My tribute at LAFF is a very pleasant surprise.
Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF) has revealed the names of the stars who will be payed tribute during its 8th edition, held 15 – 21 March. Screenwriter Sayed Fouad, founder of LAFF announced: Tributes during the upcoming edition of Egyptian Stars will include the superstar Lebleba for her long and rich career in cinema, for Lebleba happens to be one of the most contributing stars in Egyptian cinema with over 86 works under her belt, and winning various awards for them throughout her career, 4 of which for her role in "Devil's Paradise" by Osama Fawzy, along other awards for her roles in "Against the Government" and "Hot Night by Atef Al Tayeb, as well as Youssef Chahine's "The Other" and "Alexandria, New York", she's also been a jury member in 16 different Arab and international festivals.
Sayed Fouad added: From the younger generation, we will pay tribute to the young star Asser Yassine, who is considered one of the most influential stars of this generation, with a film career of over 20 different titles, between short and long feature films with a number of the greatest Egyptian directors. His films tackled important issues, such as "Messages of the Sea", "Walls of the Moon", "The Promise", "The Island", "Yacobian Building", "The Aquarium" and "Diamond Dust".
Film director Azza Elhousseiny, director of LAFF has announced that the 8th edition will be named after the great Burkinabè director Idrissa Ouédraogo.
Idrissa Ouédraogo who passed away on 18 February 2018 has directed 21 films varying between short and long feature films, and are considered to be some of the greatest works of cinema to come from Sub-Saharan Africa. His works have dealt with themes of clash between rural and urban life, tradition and modernity in his home country of Burkina Faso, as well as other countries in Africa. His most notable film Tilaï (The Law), which was awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival in 1990, and Samba Traoré, which was nominated for the Golden Bear in 1993 at the 43rd edition of Berlin Film Festival.
Lebleba commented on her tribute at LAFF saying: I adore Luxor the city, with its monuments, landmarks and beautiful nature, and that LAFF which is held in Luxor, is a very organized festival, as I've been a recurring guest since its inauguration, and I was always filled with joy being at the most beautiful part of Egypt, Luxor.
As for my tribute by LAFF, it means a lot to me, suffice to feel the appreciation for my long career which I started at the age of 5, and haven't stirred away from for even a moment, stages shifting in my career as I grow in years and experience, and this tribute means a lot to me, to be honored by my home country, at the most beautiful place of my country, it's a major honor and I thank LAFF for it.
Lebleba concluded by saying: The concept of the festival is amazing and very beneficial to us, it's the only festival that allows us the chance to see works of African cinema that we never get to see at the theaters, and the location itself is full of positive energy and amazing audience.
As for Asser Yassine he said: When I had the honor of being a member of the long narrative film jury during the festivals previous edition, I witnessed firsthand the importance of the festival and how influential it is as a major meeting event for filmmakers from Africa, and it attracts the most important African films, as well as young African filmmakers, which makes it one of the most renowned festivals in the continent.
And about his tribute he added: My tribute is a very pleasant surprise to me, we've grown accustomed to tributes being after a relatively long career, but LAFF's vision that tributes should be paid to excellence of all generations, and not just about how long of a career it's been or how many titles you've worked on, and that alone made me confident about accepting this honor and be very welcoming of it.
Azza also noted that the rest of tributes from African countries will be announced soon.
Luxor African Film Festival is organized by Independent Shabab Foundation, under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and exclusive media sponsorship by dmc TV Network. In cooperation with the Governorate of Luxor, the Syndicate of Cinema and the National Bank of Egypt.
