LAFF launches its 12th edition: “Cinema the Quest of Immortality”
Luxor African Film Festival has released the official poster for its 12th run, following the announcement of the launch of its new edition from February 4 to 10. Egyptian aspiring artist, Mahmoud Ismail Abou Al-Enin was keen on highlighting these three elements “Luxor, Africa, and Cinema” in his poster design, which reads (Cinema the Quest of Immortality), the chosen slogan of this new edition.
The artist said “Luxor is the city of the sun and the capital of the Pharaonic civilization, and this is reflected in the poster through the sun and the Pharaonic obedience, which is the same as the sun of Africa”, adding that he specifically picked the flying balloon to be part of his design as it’s known to be one of Luxor’s popular landmarks. “It has a reference to the famous cinematic angle (Birdseye), which reveals about African cinema and icons” He explained.
Azza Elhosseiny, Cofounder and Director of the LAFF, indicated that the main focus of the festival is to strengthen our bond with sister African countries by supporting the joint production and economic aspects, along with the strategic choice of Luxor, which is considered to be Egypt’s gate to Africa, to play host to this prestigious festival.
She also pointed out that the poster plays an important role in the promotion of the touristic and promotional side of the ancient city, which is partially the festival’s role besides the artistic, cinematic, and African side.
Founder and president of the festival, scriptwriter Sayed Fouad, also discussed the slogan of this edition (Cinema the Quest of Immortality), and how it portrays “Eternity”, one of the main roles of cinema. In terms of entertainment and awareness, among other aspects, cinema has been a huge part of human existence, since its initial discovery 126+ years ago.
In comparison to how Ancient Egyptians have immortalized their presence through their visual arts on the walls of temples, cemeteries, and obelisks, filmmakers have managed to do the same by commemorating time, place, humankind, fashion, music, languages, and dialects through cinema, Fouad concluded.
Independent Shabab Foundation collaborated with the Egyptian ministries (Culture – Tourism and Antiquities – Youth and Sports – Foreign Affairs), to organize the LAFF, in cooperation with Luxor Governorate, Film Syndication. It was sponsored by Orascom – Ceramica Cleopatra – National Bank of Egypt – Afreximbank.
LAFF has spent the last 13 years spreading awareness about the industry’s influence in Africa and the world and will continue to do so in the future.