Spanish actress Victoria Abril attends the opening ceremony of the Aswan International Women Film Festival in Aswan, Egypt, on Feb. 10, 2020. The fourth edition of Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) kicked off on Monday evening with the participating of about 50 films from over 30 states, focusing on advocating women's rights through filmmaking. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
ASWAN, Egypt, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The fourth edition of Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) kicked off on Monday evening with the participating of about 50 films from over 30 states, focusing on advocating women's rights through filmmaking.
"The Egyptian cinema was glorious in the past when it had female elements as protagonists, filmmakers and producers and focused on the role of women in its content," Egyptian screenwriter Mohamed Abdel-Khalek, who is also AIWFF president, told Xinhua on the red carpet during the opening ceremony.
He explained that AIWFF, with its growing popularity, is an attempt to positively revive the scope of women's role in movies and the cinema industry.
AIWFF 2020 selected 31 films representing 29 countries to take part in the official competitions for short and feature films, including two that are world premieres.
Egypt's "Certified Mail," directed by Hisham Sakr, was the opening film of the festival.
The opening ceremony of the gala honored Spanish award-winning actress and singer Victoria Abril, the guest of honor of AIWFF 2020, as well as Egyptian actresses Nelly Karim and Ragaa el-Geddawy and renowned Egyptian former diplomat and feminist Mervat Tallawy.
