Hammad, will receive Hypatia shield by the festival that described him as “the great composer who wrote many immortal and distinguished films’ music”.

Writing scores of Egyptian smash hit films, the multi-awarded Hammad's filmography includes ‘Dehk Wa Le'b Wa Gad Wa Hob’, ‘Film Thaqafi, ‘Cairo Time’, ‘Sameer, Shaheer & Baheer’, ‘Fasel Wa Na‘oud’, ‘Kalemny Shokran’, ‘Ahla El-Awkat’, ‘Emaret Yacoubian’, ‘Africano’, ‘Elli Bali Balak’ and ‘Hammam Fi Amesterdam’ to name but a few.

Hammad also wrote scores of many TV series hits like ‘Awan El Ward’, ‘Leqa’a Ala El-Hawa’, ‘Tofahet Adam’, ‘Saheb El Saa'da’, ‘Awalem Khafeya’, ‘Nagib Zahi Zarkash’ and many others.

“In an eloquent way, he could express the underlying drama within the work, making the music a major part of the dramatic work, complementing it, and expressing the characters and motives of the dramatic work,” stated the ASFF.

Another honouree of the eighth ASFF is Tunisian actress Fatma Ben Saidane who starred in 47 films, mostly in Tunisia, but also in France, Morocco, Algeria and Egypt.

The eighth ASFF will inclde fiction and documentary competitions, as well as an animation competition introduced last year, in addition to student film competition for Egyptians.

The festival was founded by Alexandria Art Circle (Dayret Al-Fann) Association “to give a chance for filmmakers to present their work to the public and this in the heart of Alexandria to be a lighthouse of cinema in the world.”

The main awards of the festival are the Golden and Silver Hypatia, named for the Greek philosopher, astronomer and mathematician who lived in Alexandria.