“Mobile Cinema Festival to Combat Violence Against Women
The Mobile Cinema Festival for Women’s Films was established in 2015, led by the Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development (ACT) center.
The festival is held annually in Cairo, with the participation of mobile filmmakers, to create new mechanisms for eliminating violence against women and to encourage greater creativity in this field.
Festival Objectives:
Shedding light on all forms of violence women face and the mechanisms used to confront them, using mobile-phone cameras.
Screening a group of films addressing issues such as sexual harassment, “”baladi wedding entry”” (dokhla baladi) customs, domestic violence, honor-related complexes, and misogynistic social culture.
Holding two awareness workshops: the first on violence against women, its forms and types, and campaigns against it, supported by studies and statistics; the second on mobile filmmaking techniques.
Conditions for Participation:
Presenting an innovative approach to addressing the problem of violence against women.
The film must not exceed 15 minutes (no minimum length).
Any editing technique may be used, on mobile phone, computer, or tablet.
Prior consent (written or filmed) must be obtained from anyone appearing in the film.
Participants must be between 18 and 35 years old.
First Edition (November 2015):
https://n9.cl/kw8wq
The first Mobile Cinema Festival to Combat Violence Against Women was held in November 2015, chaired by cinematographer Kamal Abdel Aziz, with jury member and film critic Mohamed El-Rouby noting that the participating films stood out for their boldness, and that the participation of women directors was a notable moment — one that should encourage more creative women to go out into the streets with their mobile devices, honestly documenting what they endure and expressing it realistically on film.
The jury also included screenwriter Mariam Naoum, writer Manal Barakat, journalist Suheir Fahmy, and director Romany Assaad, alongside El-Rouby.
Minister of Culture and journalist Helmy El-Namnam expressed admiration in his speech for the festival’s focus on the phenomenon of violence against women, highlighted women’s important role in society, and voiced optimism about the festival given that all its participants were young people.
Seven winning films were then screened, selected from 22 entries:
“”The Angry Driver””
“”Confused””
“”63 Seconds””
“”Not Normal””
“”The Verdict””
“”A Drop of Blood””
“”Nour””
The Gold Award went to “”The Angry Driver,”” which, through a taxi driver’s diary entries, portrays society’s negative view of women and the violation of their rights through the words of his passengers.
The Silver Award went to “”63 Seconds,”” which tells, in a matter of seconds, the story of a girl who suffered a violent harassment incident, ultimately leading to a decision to undergo gender transition to become “”Adam,”” in order to feel respected by others; the film stood out for the boldness of its concept and accompanying visuals.
The Bronze Award went to “”A Drop of Blood,”” which, through a dialogue between two girls, portrays the crisis of a society that restricts a girl’s dreams and ambitions, reducing female honor to two drops of blood. Only one of the two characters appears on camera, with a computer screen in the background showing scenes of ongoing assault against a girl; the dialogue ends with the seated girl refusing to trade away her dreams, giving up the two drops of blood in favor of pursuing her ambitions.
Alongside these, the jury also awarded technical achievement prizes to four other films:
“”The Verdict,”” addressing the “”baladi wedding entry”” custom still present in some Egyptian villages, shown through just two scenes of a bride rebelling against the custom on her wedding night, forcing her family to choose between disowning her or her taking her own life with a knife, ending on the line “”scandal upon scandal.”” Director Marwan Hafez received an external sound recorder.
“”Not Normal,”” addressing the lasting impact of violence a girl experiences in childhood — its director won a cinematic lighting kit.
“”Confused,”” portraying, through one girl, various forms of verbal violence girls face from family, neighbors, and society — its director won a laptop supporting Final Cut editing software.
“”Nour,”” whose director won a high-definition camera; the film follows a girl who disguises herself as a boy in dress and haircut to avoid harassment and verbal abuse, before ultimately choosing not to take the easy path, returning instead to her femininity and regaining the confidence to go out into the street as herself.
Certificates of appreciation were also given to the other films that took part in the competition.
During the ceremony, the audience discussed whether the screened films could bring about real change in society, and the conversation also touched on the meaning of the festival’s poster, photographed by Kamal Abdel Aziz himself, as well as the dominance of fiction films over documentaries among young filmmakers’ submissions.
On this point, Kamal Abdel Aziz stressed that young people presenting their first works should not be judged by the same standards used for professionals — “”by Youssef Chahine’s yardstick.””
Second Edition (November 2017):
https://n9.cl/zapb6
Chaired by producer Marianne Khoury, the second edition came about through UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women). The jury included Ahmed Rashwan, Magu Nadeen, Azza Kamel, and others.
Second edition prizes: Gold Award — 10,000 EGP; Silver Award — 8,000 EGP; Bronze Award — 5,000 EGP; plus five encouragement awards worth 2,000 EGP each.
Winners:
First place: “”Ahmar”” (Red), directed by Mazen Lotfy, exploring how violence practiced by a man against a woman can turn into a sadistic relationship that gratifies both parties.
Second place: “”Nour Mutafi,”” directed by Khaled Khattab, on the suffering of women born with an imperforate hymen that traps menstrual blood in the uterus, with some families refusing the corrective procedure due to notions of honor.
Third place: “”A Stranger to the City,”” directed by Amr Moussa, on sexual harassment in Egyptian streets and its effect on the freedom of girls and women.
Fourth place: “”A Lost Dream,”” directed by Israa Ashraf.
Fifth place: “”Fear,”” directed by Mamdouh Sabry.
Sixth place: “”5 of 25,”” directed by Marwan Mostafa, exploring the loss of a woman’s freedom as she moves from childhood into adolescence and youth.
Seventh place: “”Under Watch,”” directed by Sally Saeed, addressing intimate partner violence.
The five encouragement awards, worth 2,000 EGP each, went to:
“”A Lost Dream,”” directed by Israa Ashraf.
“”Fear,”” directed by Mamdouh Sabry.
“”5 of 25,”” directed by Marwan Mostafa.
“”Under Watch,”” directed by Sally Saeed.
“”The Film,”” directed by Nahed Nasr.
The Bronze Award, worth 5,000 EGP, went to “”A Stranger to the City,”” directed by Amr Moussa.
Special Awards: “”Nour,”” directed by Khaled Khattab, won the Gold Award, worth 10,000 EGP. “”Ahmar”” (Red), directed by Mazen Lotfy.
Third Edition (December 2019):
https://n9.cl/0dnjr
Jury chaired by Dr. Ghada Mohamed Saeed Gabara, former dean of the Higher Institute of Cinema, with director Hany Khalifa, director Ahmed Abou El-Fadl, Dr. Essam El-Adawy, and Ashraf Abdel Moneim.
Winners:
Gold Award: Loay Galal, “”A Letter to My Father,”” from Alexandria.
Silver Award: Safaa Ashour, “”Hala and the Girls,”” from Cairo.
Bronze Award: Mohamed El-Aswany, from Aswan, “”On the Road.””
Fourth Edition (December 3, 2021):
The results of the fourth edition of the Mobile Festival to Combat Violence Against Women, organized by Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development (ACT), were announced at Zawya Cinema.
Gold Award: “”Umm Yehia,”” directed by Reham Ghareeb.
Silver Award: “”Manika,”” directed by Khaled Habib.
Bronze Award: “”The Desert Road,”” directed by Youssef Ahmed El-Sayed.
Certificates of participation were distributed to the remaining films submitted, with wishes of success in future editions.
Fifth Edition (January 2023):
ACT announced the list of participating films, spanning both documentary and fiction. Fifty films were submitted, and the selection committee chose 17 to compete for the awards.
List of participating films:
Aya Samir, “”Without Wings””
Ayat Gawdat, “”Not the Third Day””
Basma Shereen, “”Through Their Eyes””
Dina George, “”A New Look””
Salma Saad, “”Inner Day””
Salma Mohamed Ayman, “”Not Allowed””
Abdelrahman Gamal, “”Qout””
Marwa Suleiman, “”Windows””
Mazen Lotfy, “”The Forest””
Medhat Saleh, “”Not a Waste””
Marwa El-Sory, “”My Heart and Its Key””
Menna Mohamed Abdelkhalek, “”Fated and Written””
Nouran Diaa, “”A Day in a Mother’s Life””
Nourhan Sami, “”Just Like Last Time””
Nada Khaled, “”The Party I Don’t Want to Attend””
Hoda Samir, “”Between Two Stations””
Hadeer Hassan, “”Wheel””
Winners:
First place: “”Days We Won’t Forget,”” directed by Jihad Elm El-Din — 20,000 EGP.
Second place: “”Looking for Sara,”” directed by Marwan Salama — 15,000 EGP.
Third place: “”The Apple,”” directed by Ilaria Munir — 10,000 EGP.
Fourth place: “”Inside Out,”” directed by Sophia Naguib — 8,000 EGP.
Fifth place: “”Night Sea,”” directed by Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Hamid — 5,000 EGP.
Shield awards and certificates went to the remaining participating films, including: “”December 25,”” “”A Dream,”” “”Circles,”” and “”His Name Was My Love.””
Sixth Edition (2024):
Seventy films took part in the sixth edition, spanning fiction, documentary, experimental, and personal styles, with the jury selecting 13 films for the official competition.
Festival Awards:
First place: “”Days We Won’t Forget,”” directed by Jihad Elm El-Din — cash prize of 20,000 EGP.
Second place: “”Looking for Sara,”” directed by Marwan Salama — cash prize of 15,000 EGP.
Third place: “”The Apple,”” directed by Ilaria Munir — cash prize of 10,000 EGP.
Fourth place: “”Inside Out,”” directed by Sophia Naguib — cash prize of 8,000 EGP.
Fifth place: “”Night Sea,”” directed by Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Hamid — cash prize of 5,000 EGP.
The remaining films receiving award shields and certificates:
“”December 25,”” directed by Marwan Ali Othman
“”A Dream,”” directed by Marina Sabeel
“”Circles,”” directed by Nour Suleiman
“”His Name Was My Love,”” directed by Salma Ayman and Karman Ghaly
“”Qatar Ticket,”” directed by Salma Tarek
“”Shame,”” directed by Bousy Sherif
“”Camouflaging an Unbearable Memory,”” directed by Salma Saad
“”A Rose,”” directed by Haitham Abdel Hamid
The festival was opened by media presenter Buthaina Kamel, chaired by Dr. Azza Kamel, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development (ACT), and managed by Ms. Mai Abou El-Saoud, Director of Drosos Programs.
Award shields, certificates, and cash prizes were distributed to the winning films.”
