Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 March 1999 Issue No. 419
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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Of aunts, swans and genies

By Khaireya El-Bishlawi

The Ninth International Festival for Children's Films opened on a note of high jinks last Monday: acrobats, masks, balloons, flowers and colours adorned the first night, as tokens of a spirit of friendship and communion between children of the world. The organisers, clearly wishing to prove to the children that the festival was really theirs, entrusted them with several key tasks. Besides 40 children sporting the costumes of 40 countries from around the world, four particularly adorable youngsters -- two boys and two girls -- were in charge of welcoming the public, introducing the artists honoured by the festival (in both Arabic and English) and presenting them with their awards, in the form of a golden statue of a child standing on the globe holding a strip of film. Dina Galal, a young girl with special needs, gave an impressive performance on the piano of Beethoven's Für Elise, as well as Al-Helm Al-Arabi, composed by Helmi Bakr and Salah El-Sharnoubi.

Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni formally declared the festival open, in a ceremony attended by Fawzi Fahmi, organiser of the festival and head of the General Union of Arab Artists, Ali El-Mahdi, secretary-general of the union, director Kamal El-Sheikh, head of the festival, and festival director Soheir Abdel-Qader.

Among those honoured were Doreid Laham, the Syrian comedian whose humour and talent as an entertainer have graced many popular works for children, and painter and cartoonist Hussein Bikar, who created the classic, instantly recognisable drawing of Sinbad pursuing his fantastical journeys in The Arabian Nights. Egyptian radio pioneer Mohamed Mahmoud Shaaban, presenter of Baba Sharo, the first and still the most famous Egyptian radio programme for children, was honoured posthumously, and his widow Safeya El-Mohandess, another towering figure of the wireless, was there to receive his award.

For her first public appearance after a long absence, Lubna Abdel-Aziz, the famous '50s cinema star and presenter of the radio programme The Children's Corner, was the guest of honour. Her great affinity with children earned her the affectionate title of Auntie Lulu. After a thunderous round of applause, Abdel-Aziz gave the opening speech in both Arabic and English. Originally invited to sit on the festival jury, Abdel-Aziz had unfortunately to decline as she will be travelling. In her absence, Egypt will be represented by Mursi Saad El-Din, Ne'm El-Baz and Nagwa Farag. There is also a children's jury.

Those who had followed all the preparations for the festival were inevitably infected with the contagious enthusiasm and goodwill that prevailed behind the scenes. For them, it was easy to predict that this ninth round would be a success, and so it has proved. By that, I mean that it has successfully achieved its raison d'être: the creation of a context in which children can enjoy a few moments of true joy in a world otherwise overwhelmed by the tensions and difficulties which consume all of their parents' time.

For indeed, the children of our age are not to be envied, despite the material progress and relative ease of access to new means of entertainment they enjoy. Television, video, computer, beach buggy and jet ski are no effective substitutes for family warmth and emotional support which only parents can provide. The latter, however, are increasingly delivered in short sharp doses, which have to be fitted into a hectic schedule dictated by the pressures of daily life.

Anastasia, US Eagle's Eye, Denmark Lo'lo' Window, Saudi Arabia

That is why the festival is not merely a compilation of the largest possible number of selected international films, but is essentially an attempt to create a place and time for joyous, stress-free communication between adults and children. To this end, it brings together specialists in child psychology who are familiar with children's emotional needs and the proper way to care for their psychological health, parents and -- last, but certainly not least -- the children themselves.

Needless to say, the parents in question are of the kind who are capable of providing security and trust, and giving their offspring the solid affective and intellectual foundations without which they would be vulnerable to the storm winds that blow through this tempestuous stage of life.

On the fringe of the main film screenings, the festival is also organising a series of seminars on vital issues related to children, led by experts, professors and members of major national and Arab educational institutions. Besides a seminar on the protection of children in relation to the media, there are sessions on "Educational Films", "Science Fiction in Children's Art", "Children Challenging Handicaps and Their Art" and "Literacy". Other fringe activities include a series of documentary films, among them Children Between the Computer and the Cinema Screen, Children' Cinema, A Source of Culture and Children's Rights.

This round of the children's film festival is dedicated to children with special needs, who against all odds insist on their right to lead a normal life. To fulfil this pledge, more attention and effort than ever before were required, matched by increased funding from the Ministry of Culture (200,000LE), the Arab Assembly for Children (100,000LE), the General Union of Arab Artists (20,000LE) and the Arab Contractors' Company (50,000LE). Furthermore, director Youssef Chahine and producer Gabi Khouri offered the use of the Karim I and II theatres free of charge, while the Renaissance Film Company presented the opening film free as well as offering gifts to the children attending.

The opening film, The Parent Trap, is a model of the "message" genre. The plot functions to draw all the diverse threads together so as to spell out a clear moral: children play an essential role in achieving family union and happiness. The light-hearted tone can be mainly credited to a particularly impressive performance by Lindsay Lohan in the double role of twin sisters Annie and Hallie, separated at birth because of their parents' divorce.

"Those of us who have met with the misfortune of losing the function of an arm or a leg or an eye or an ear, continue to pursue life's struggle against all odds, winning our daily battles, working, playing, loving, living, dealing peacefully with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. To those children we dedicate this year's festival. We love them, we admire them, and we salute them." Lubna Abdel-Aziz

"Here we are in the autumn of our life, returning to our first years, becoming children once again -- for today I am happy with the happiness of a young boy. Happy to be honoured in Egypt, the land which has done most to nurture Arab culture. The proverb says that Egypt is a gift of the Nile, and for me, the Egyptians are God's gift to the immortal river." Doreid Laham

Director Nancy Meyers manages to convince the public that these are two different children with two completely different personalities. Her casting of Dennis Quaid as the father and Natasha Richardson as the mother is also completely successful. This domestic comedy relies on the plots woven by the two girls, and even more so on a common device, once perfected by Shakespeare, called mistaken identity. The significance of the film lies in its effective exposition of a serious problem -- parental separation and its effect on the children involved -- in a comic style.

American entries in the festival feature a plethora of previously released animated films, including Mulan, Anastasia and Hercules. The artistic highlight, however, is a number of recent Iranian productions, among them Maternal Love by Kamal Tabrizi, Mary's Son by Hamid Jebelli, Fire Bird by Tahminek Sarbazzade, One Is Not Enough, an animated film by Ali Mourad, and A Fish On the Ground by M. Sheydal, which presents a vision of war seen through a child's eyes.

Saudi Arabia is represented by an animated film entitled Hossani (My Horse) and a three-minute film called Lo'lo' Window directed by Mohamed Hasseb, depicting a child's reactions when his dreams come into conflict with social norms.

Egyptian entries, meanwhile, include several short animated films by Zeinab Zamzam, in which she experiments with a technique that is new to her, using plasticine and balls of wool. The films in question include the 10-minute-long Shellet Asshab (A Group of Friends), Al-Khiyam Al-Saghira (Small Tents) and Al-Zahra Toshki (Toshki the Flower). Other Egyptian entries include the 40-minute cartoon Bakkar by Mona Abul-Nasr, set among the children of Nubia, and Shadow Tales by Hassan Abdel-Ghani.

Poland has sent 26 professional films to the festival, along with nine films produced by a children's directing workshop organised by a Polish art school. There were also films from a Finnish workshop where children and adults collaborate on the movie-making process.

This year the festival itself is also for the first time organising a similar venture -- a five-day workshop, two days of which are reserved for children to experiment with different film-making techniques, including animation, puppets, shadow play, plasticine, story and script writing, as well as space for free creativity. Director Fayza Hussein will supervise the workshop, while Mona Abul-Nasr, Mohamed Abaza and Hassan Abdel-Ghani will be among the participants.

One of the most important films this year is the Canadian entry Henry and Marvin, which deals with the relationship between two children, one of whom is mentally-retarded, and the other deaf and dumb. This extremely sensitive film embodies an eloquent message from children with special needs as they challenge their personal handicaps.

There is also a film from Estonia -- for the first time, to my knowledge. Entitled Dear Mr Moon, it is directed by Rao Heidmets. The 92-minute film tells the strange story of an adolescent girl's relationship with her mother and the adventures she goes through in order to discover the reasons why her father abandoned his family. China is represented by A Joyful Angel by Guang Chunlan, a full-length feature set in a kindergarten. The film explores children's sense of humour and the playful world they inhabit, in parallel with the touching story of a small girl who has been deprived of her mother and her struggle to get her back.

The German entry Queen of the Lake stands out for its high quality of visual and aesthetic craftsmanship. The film's plot is reminiscent of the Swan Lake story, dealing as it does with the mythical love between a prince and a swan; events later reveal that the swan is in fact a little girl who has been enchanted by the queen of the lake. Another film grounded in myth is Eagle's Eye from Denmark, directed by Peter Flinth, whose visual and imaginative scope will appeal strongly to children.

The festival programme also includes a large number of made-for-TV films and series, such as the Australian series The Mischievous Genie about an adolescent girl's relationship with a genie who executes her every wish, and the Czech film Liskulka, by Natasha Bohackova, starring a very bright little girl who, in her own way, tries to explore the world she lives in.

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