Cairo International film festival

Cairo films festival to remember Faten Hamama.

11-20 Nov. The Lady of the Arab Screen is theme of the 37th edition of the festival, dedicated to the Egyptian actress who died in January this year. There are also special tributes to Omar Sharif and Nour El-Sherif who also died this year.

Hamama was an icon of the Egyptian cinema and seven of her films will be screened during the festival, one each day. There will also be a special Faten Hamama award to be given to a prominent figure who has made a substantial contribution to the cinema. Hamama, who first starred in a film when she was seven, made a contribution not only to Egypt's film industry but also to the role of women in Egyptian cinema and in society.

To mark the role of women the festival also has a woman president for the first time, Magda Wassef, who has been the president of the Luxor European Film Festival for several years.

The 37th edition has additional sections – Horizons of New Arab Cinema, International Critics Week, and Cinema of Tomorrow and the Festival of Festivals, showing 40 films from the top international film festivals.

The festival was suspended in 2011 and 2013 because of the political turmoil in Egypt. It is the oldest in the region but because of political and funding difficulties it is only now making a serious come-back.

For the full list of films being screened see the Cairo International film festival website.