Ismailia Int'l Film Festival to honour Egyptian filmmaker Ali El-Ghazouli - Screens - Arts & Culture

Al-Ahram Weekly

28-01-2025

The 26th Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentary and Shorts (IIFF) (5 - 11 February) will honour veteran Egyptian filmmaker Ali El-Ghazouli,92, by showcasing several of his acclaimed films in a special segment titled 'A Look At History.'
El-Ghazouli studied Photography at the Faculty of Applied Arts, graduating in 1956 before contiuning his studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts and also in Italy.
Over an illustrious career that spanned decades, he established himself as one of the leading photographers and documentary directors in Egypt and the Arab World.
Earlier in his journey, he focused on directing short social documentaries, whichfeatured regularly on Egyptian TV.
Over the years, he branched out to direct feature documentaries.
He is renowned for his documentary films, such as The Healer of Saint Catherine (1986), Twilight Fishing (1990), Mr Gaber (1993), and The Martyr and the Square (2012).
The 26th edition of the IIFF, founded in 1991, is the oldest specialized film festival in Egypt, the Middle East, and Africa. The festival is organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture's National Cinema Centre.
Headed by Egyptian filmmaker Hala Galal, the 26th edition includes 51 films from 34 countries.
The short film segment features 24 works, while the special segment, dedicated to student films, features 17 works.
The feature documentary films include 11 titles, including Chronicles of the Absurd (Cuba) by Miguel Coyula; Shahid (Germany/Iran) by Narges Kalhor; Green Line (Lebanon) by Sylvie Ballyot; And There Was An Evening. There Was A Morning -The First Day (Egypt) by Youhanna Nagy; and Rising Up At Night (Congo) by Nelson Makengo.
It also includes A Fidai Film (Palestine) by Kamal Aljafari; The Nights Still Smell of Gunpowder (Mozambique) by Inadelso Cossa; Union (USA) by Brett Story and Stephen Maing; Brunaupark (Switzerland) by Felix Hergert and Dominik Zietlow; and Where the Trees Bear Meat (Argentine) by Alexis Franco.
The festival also revealed the jury panel for this segment at a press conference.
Three filmmakers sit on the jury panel of documentary films: Jean-Marie Téno (Cameroon, president of the jury), Rodrigo Bernardo (Brazil), and Nadine Salib (Egypt).
The festival also hosts numerous seminars, workshops, and masterclasses.
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