'Friends or Business' wins director first film award

For his film Ashab Walla Business (Friends or Business Partners), Egyptian director Ali Edris won Tuesday the annual Mohammed Shebel Award for direction of a first feature film, according to the daily al Gomhuria.  

In the short film contest which is held in the honor of late Egyptian director Mohammed Shebel, the head of the jury announced the three winners: Usama Abul Ata for his film Aswat (sounds) based on Sulaiman Fayad’s novel, Nadin Khan for her film Ru’ya (vision), Amr Ghaleb for his film al Dunia Ghenwa (life is a song). 

Ashab Walla Business, which involved on-location shooting in the Palestinian camps in South Lebanon, was written by Medhat al Adl, and stars singer Mustafa Qamar, Hani Salama, Amr Waked, Sami al Adl, Nour, Tareq Abdel Aziz, Carol al Haj and Aya Medhat al Adl. 

The film tackles al Aqsa Intifada head on, treating it as the main focus rather than a backdrop to the unfolding of events. In his debut, Idris distinguishes himself by choosing a serious topic – Albawaba.com