The Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF) organisers unveiled the main features of the ninth edition of the festival on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday.

The Egyptian festival's president Sayed Fouad, executive director Azza El-Husseiny, and general coordinator Ahmed Helba invited filmmakers and critics to the Tunisian pavilion to hear the programme for the event, which will be held next March.

The ninth edition will be named in honour of late actor and producer Farid Shawky, on the occasion of the centenary of his birth.

It will be held between 13 and 19 March, with Kenya as the guest of honour, focusing on the younger generation of Kenyan filmmakers.

The festival will also pay tribute to Malian actor Sotigui Kouyaté, Egyptian actress and singer Akila Ratib, and Tunisian producer Ahmed Bahaeddine Attia in a new competition which will be added called "African Diaspora", which will present the creations of Africans from outside the continent.

An African-wide series of screenings will also be organised next January; “Youssef Chahine Day" will see screenings of the Egyptian director’s works on January 25, his birthday. Round tables, debates and brochures will accompany the event, which will be done in partnership with Misr International Films and Zawya.

In addition, Malmö Arab Film Festival's director Mohamed Keblawi announced that the winning films from this year’s festival will be screened in Sweden, including the Ghanaian film The Burial of Kojo and the Egyptian film Night/Exterior, with a seminar will be held to support the African film industry (both sub-Saharan and north African).

The festival is organised by the Egyptian non-profit organisation the Independent Shabab Foundation (ISF), with the support and cooperation of the ministries of culture, tourism, youth, and foreign affairs, the governorate of Luxor, and the Cinematic Professions Syndicate.

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