The Egyptian Film Week organised by the embassy of Egypt in Belgrade, in cooperation with the Yugoslav Film Museum (Kinoteka) and the Arab Cultural Centre in Serbia, witnessed a steady stream of attendance during the showings of five films, covering diverse eras of production and genres.
The films shown were Ihsa Shahrazad, Cairo Time, Factory Girl, Land and Gram in Karnak.
International Director of Kinoteka Marjan Vujovic expressed interest in increasing the number of contemporary Egyptian films in the museum archives, while welcoming cooperation with counterpart institutions in Egypt, including the National Film Center through bilateral memorandums of understanding.
Vujovic highlighted that Kinoteka had translated films into Serbian to facilitate the cultural outreach to the general public.
President of the Arab Cultural Centre Ena Pavlovic expressed appreciation for the invitation to participate in organising the activity.
“The centre, which gathers a group of graduates of the Department of Arabic Language Faculty of Philology at the University of Belgrade, also promotes audio, visual and printed instruments for Arab culture,” she said.
The Egyptian ambassador to Serbia said that the success of the week was also due to the variety of selection, which included three contemporary works and two classics, also including social issues and musicals.
“This prompted a number of local television channels in Serbia and the Balkans to request the screening of Egyptian films on their screens for a wider audience,” he said.
He said that this interest proves the ability of the Egyptian film industry to communicate with wider societal circles in Serbia and neighbouring countries, noting that the embassy will continue its efforts to promote the Egyptian cinematic presence within Serbian cultural institutions.
He called on the Egyptian film industry to prepare from now for the FEST film festival in Belgrade which is held in February every year, and is considered the largest in eastern and southern Europe.
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