Egypt’s 'Dry Hot Summers' scoops best short award at Malmo Arab Film Festival

Ahram Online , Tuesday 4 Oct 2016

Directed by Sherif El-Bendary, the film is written by Nura El-Sheikh and co-produced by Claudia Jubeh (Germany) and Hossam El-Ouan (Egypt)

Dry Hot Summer
(Photo: Still from Dry Hot Summers)

Egyptian short film Dry Hot Summers won the Best Short Film Award at the 6th Malmo Arab Film Festival in Sweden (30 September - 5 October), sharing the award with Kongdom Garbage by Iraqi filmmaker Yasir Karim.

Dry Hot Summers 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. It also scooped up the main award in the Short Films category at Algeria’s ninth Oran Arab Film Festival.

Last August, it won best film at Oman’s Dhofar Arab Film Forum, the top prize of the forum.

The 30-minute film captures the chance meeting of two lonely Egyptians on a bustling and hot summer day in Cairo; a cancer patient and a bride anxious to get her photo taken in the white dress. The day's journey disturbs the stifling routines of the two characters, taking them on an expedition of self-discovery.

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

The 6th Malmo Arab Film Festival runs between 30 September and 5 October. Egyptian actress Menna Shalabi won the award for best actress at the same festival, for her role in Nawara, a film by Egyptian director Hala Khalil.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

Short link: