The film Exile Dream by Palestinian director May Al Masri has won the Golden Prize for Long Documentary Films at the 5th Ismailia Film Festival, according to news agencies.
The Chilean head of the festival's international jury, Miguel Litin, announced Masri’s winning of the $1,500 prize. The director also secured the Egyptian 1,000 pound appreciation award for the best Arabic film at the festival. The prize money was donated by the Egyptian Documentary Film Association.
The film tells about a warm relationship between two Palestinian girls, one living in Palestine and the other in a refugee camp in Lebanon, within the framework of continuity between Palestinians inside their homeland and abroad.
The Tunisian French film Cairo, the Mother and Son by the Tunisian director Mustafa Al Hasnawi won the $1,000 second prize.
In the short documentary film contest, the Russian work Al Kokazi, directed by the George Gabilia, won the first Golden Prize, followed by the Syrian film Ennahom Kanu Huna (They Were Here) which won the second prize.
The Greek film Wrong Century, directed by Sterkhios Niziris, won the first Short Narrative Film Golden Prize, followed by the Egyptian film Lily, directed by Marwan Hamed, son of screenwriter Wahid Hamed, which won the second price in the same contest.
The jury decided to give the first Golden Prize for the best cartoon film to the Russian work The Earth That Astonishes Us, by director Elizabeth Ziplifona, and the second prize to the Lebanese film Alf Yawm Wa Yawm (One Thousand and One Days), directed by George Khouri and Rabie Muruwwah.
Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni handed out the prizes to the winners in the four festival official contests.
Over 50 films from 20 countries participated in the six-day festival, which was concluded Thursday evening.
The first prize was a golden statue made especially for the festival and an appreciation certificate, in addition to $1,000 while the second prize was an appreciation certificate and $1,000 – Albawaba.com
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