Egypt's Panorama of the European Film festival kicks off with a bang as Carte Blanche returns for this year's event .
Three Egyptian filmmakers, Hala Galal, Mohamed Khan and Amr Salama, will take to the stage to discuss their cinematic experiences with the audience as well as showcase films they consider to be pieces of art that greatly influenced their work as directors.
For her part in the Carle Blanche section, Hala Galal chose " Le Havre ", a 2011 comedy drama which tells the story of shoe shiner who tries to save an immigrant child in the French port city, Le Havre.
The Egyptian director and producer is well respected in the Egyptian film industry as she launched SEMAT, an organization supporting independent Cinema in Egypt and the Arab World.
Amr Salama's film of choice was a 2004 film called " The Sea Inside " starring Javier Bardem. The Italian film tells the story of Ramón Sampedro (Javier Bardem), a Spanish ship mechanic and part-time poet who, due to an unfortunate diving accident, became quadriplegic. The film is based on a true story of Sampedro's 30 year legal battle to end his own life.
Amr Salama proved to be a promising film maker in the Egyptian film industry. The playwright, blogger and director released his first film "Zay El Nahrda" in 2008, earning him the Star of the Future Award from the Alexandria International Film Festival. In 2011, his film "Asmaa" won him the Best Director and the Best Actor awards in the New Horizons Competition.
The last director to participate in the Carte Blanche section is Mohammed Khan, who chose a 1960s film called " Saturday Night and Sunday Morning ". Starring Albert Finney and Rachel Roberts, the film takes place in a Nottingham factory were Finney works. Finney's numerous love affairs with both single and married women proves to be problematic in his already muddled life.
The oldest of the directors involved, Khan was born in 1942 and went to study engineering in England in 1958. His life took a massive and unexpected turn when he gave up engineering to pursue a career in film making in 1962. After joining the London School of Film Technique, Khan was influenced by multiple cinematic experiences and went on to become one of the most prominent directors in the Egyptian film industry by 1980.
Four of the various films he directed such as "Missing Person" (1984), "Wife of An Important Man" (1987), "Dreams of Hind and Camilia" (1988) and "Supermarket" (1989) have been listed among the top 100 Egyptian films ever made.
His film "Factory Girl" (2013) has received several international awards and was selected to represent Egypt in the Foreign Language category at the Oscars in 2015.
With a selection of more than 60 films in this year's edition, the Panorama of the European Film Festival will hold its screenings in four cinemas across Cairo. Zawya Cinema and Karim Cinema located in Downtown Cairo will launch the event followed by the Plaza Cinema in 6th of October city and the Point 90 Cinema in Tagamoa.
Furthermore, the Panorama of the European Film Festival will make its very first appearance outside the capital with special screenings held in Alexandria, Menya and Tanta.