The award-winning Dry Hot Summer (Har Gaf Sayfan) by Egyptian filmmaker Sherif El-Bendary has been selected for the opening of Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts, 18th edition.

Dry Hot Summer was written by Nura El-Sheikh and co-produced by Claudia Jubeh (Germany) and Hossam El-Ouan (Egypt).

The 30-minute film captures the chance meeting of two lonely Egyptians on a bustling and hot summer day in Cairo. The day's journey disturbs the stifling routines of the two characters, taking them on an expedition of self-discovery.

The short fiction film had its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival's 13th edition, 2016.

It won the Robert Bosch Stiftung Film Prize for International Cooperation at a gala held during Berlinale Talents, a six-day creative summit for up-and-coming filmmakers at the Berlin Film Festival.

The Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentary and Shorts takes place every year in Ismailia to promote an intercultural dialogue for a deeper understanding of others by presenting their creative works to the audience, and to support filmmakers of documentary and short films.

The 17th edition of the festival took place in 2014, and the 18th edition was set to take place the in 2015 but was postponed to 2016.

The film festival runs from 20 to 26 April.

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