The 12th edition of the Panorama of the European Film is coming to an end. If you’re still unfamiliar with the event, it’s basically an intense 11-day period filled with carefully-picked European films. Surrounding these screenings are discussions with the filmmakers behind them alongside masterclasses, workshops and lectures that revolve around cinema and filmmaking. All of this happens mainly in Downtown Cairo and the areas surrounding it, but there are further screenings in Alexandria, Ismailia, Port Said, Qena, Mansoura, Menya, Zagazig, Damietta and Assiout as well.
This weekend (Friday and Saturday) is the last chance to catch an interesting glimpse of this year’s Panorama. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss as the European film marathon comes to an end. We focus on Cairo.
1. ‘Sorry We Missed You’ (2019) Screening at Zawya Cinema – Friday, 7 pm
The film ‘Sorry We Missed You’ comes from the award-winning Director, Ken Loach, who recently directed ‘I, Daniel Blake’ and is famous for exploring the ramifications of capitalism and the struggles of the working class in general.
In ‘Sorry We Missed You’, he zeroes in on a British couple who venture into the gig economy to become their own bosses only to find different kinds of exploitation and struggle to make ends meet.
2. ‘A White, White Day’ (2019) Screening at Zawya Cinema – Friday, 10 pm
Writer and Director Hlynur Palmason imagines an off-duty police officer in a remote Icelandic town who suspects that a local man has had an affair with his recently deceased wife.
The unnerving experience follows what happens as his obsession with the suspected affair grows and ultimately starts affecting the ones he loves.
3. ‘The Celebration’ (1998) Screening at Zawya Cinema – Saturday, 4 pm
There’s a section in the Panorama of the European Film dedicated to screening the films that made an impact on the careers of renowned filmmakers. Egyptian Producer and Director Marianne Khoury who is known for ‘Virgin Male’ and ‘El Medina’ was one of the people who were asked this year to pick the European film that made an impact on their career and she picked Thomas Vinterberg’s ‘The Celebration’.
‘The Celebration’ is an intense, action-packed motion picture that is shot kind of like a home video. It tells the story of a big family gathering together to celebrate a birthday. But things go off the rails after some concealed truths are revealed.
After the screening of the modern classic, Marianne Khoury will enter into a discussion with the audience on its significance from her point of view.
4. ‘Deerskin’ (2019) Screening at Zawya Cinema – Saturday, 7 pm
The protagonist of this comedy is a man whose obsession with a designer deerskin jacket causes him to spend his life’s savings and turn to crime..
The main character is played by Jean Dujardin, the famous French actor/writer/director you may know from Martin Scorcese’s ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ and the picture itself is directed by Quentin Dupieux.
5. A Master Class on Film Coproduction and Collaboration Across Borders With Elhum Shakerifar at Zawya Cinema – Saturday, 4 pm
The audience during one of the Panorama of the European Film’s discussions – via 925
An image of Elhum Shakerifar via Lighthouse.org
Elhum Shakerifar is a BAFTA-nominated producer with experience in coproducing films between countries from Japan to France and from Ireland to Lebanon.
During the master class Shakerifar will touch on the basics of production, and especially, coproducing across borders. This master class will be only in English, free of charge and doesn’t require registration.
