STORY: 8th Aswan int'l women film festival opens in Egypt
SHOOTING TIME: April 20, 2024
DATELINE: April 22, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:36
LOCATION: ASWAN, Egypt
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the opening ceremony of the eighth edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival 
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): HASSAN ABU-ELA, AIWFF director
3. various of the opening ceremony of the eighth edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): HALA KHALIL, Egyptian film director

STORYLINE:

The eighth edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) opens Saturday night in Egypt's city of Aswan, located by the Nile River.
  
The annual red-carpet ceremony, attended by dozens of Egyptian and foreign artists, filmmakers and critics, uses filmmaking to shed light on women's causes and rights in Egypt and the Middle East region.
   
This year's festival runs until Thursday. Seventy-six feature and short films from 35 countries will compete in various competition sections.
   
SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): HASSAN ABU-ELA, AIWFF director
"The Aswan International Women Film Festival stands out from other film festivals in Egypt by specializing in films made by women or that explore women's issues."

This year's edition has special programs for Sudanese and Palestinian films that focus on women.
   
Palestinian film director Rashid Masharawi said that it is important for cinema and film festivals to shed light on the issues and problems facing women in the Arab world's patriarchal society.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): HALA KHALIL, Egyptian film director
"I'm happy to see the continuous and steady development each time that I participate in the AIWFF. It has become an important festival for women's cinema, especially after some Arab countries preceded us in holding this type of festival. I see that the AIWFF rekindled competition in this field."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Aswan, Egypt.
(XHTV)