Thursday March 28th, 2024
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Ahmad Abdalla: Filmmaker-in-Focus at Singapore Film Fest

The lauded Egyptian director will be honoured at the international film festival which will screen the best of his work.

Staff Writer

The Singapore International Film Festival will be celebrating its 25th instalment and have announced that Egyptian Ahmad Abdalla will be this year’s featured Filmmaker-in-Focus.

Marking its silver anniversary, the festival is returning bigger than ever. With each passing year the festival designates one filmmaker to shine a light on and showcases their body of work.

This year the honour goes to Ahmad Abdalla, one of the most promising young filmmakers in the country. Arriving on the international film scene with his 2008 debut feature Heliopolis, Abdalla has managed to develop an impressive international reputation in a short period of time winning awards with each passing feature.  To celebrate his work the festival will be screening four of his films; Heliopolis (2008), Microphone (2010), Rags and Tatters (2013), and Décor (2014).

Making its world premiere at this year’s Cairo International Film Festival, Décor follows the story of a woman struggling with her own life choices. The film marks the first big budget project for the young director, and received a warm reception, despite controversial statements made at the festival by Khaled Aboul-Naga about Egypt’s current President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

If Egypt is to return to its golden age of cinema, it will come off the backs of young fearless film makers like Ahmad Abdalla who are leading the way and regaining international acclaim for Egyptian cinema.