Despite budgeting challenges, the Cairo International Film Festival has almost reached full capacity during each movie screening, said the event's head organizer Samir Farid during a press conference on Saturday afternoon at the Supreme Council for Culture.
Up until Thursday, the festival sold 4,200 tickets with an average of a thousand tickets a day, said Farid, with the occupancy rate reaching from 80 to 90 percent. Sales have reached LE33,000, while the festival has employed 106 people, he added.
Farid credited part of the success to the Egyptian press' "outstanding coverage." The festival's primary goal is political, Farid argued, despite being a purely cinema festival. "We have established the festival amid a difficult political circumstances as we are in a state of war," he said.
Farid pointed out that the current economic crisis forced the organizers of the festival to adopt austere measures to reduce costs. With only a budget of US$300,000 for guests, he said the festival could not host Hollywood stars.
The head of the festival said he considers his efforts as more a volunteer role, as he has only received LE1,200, a wage nine times less than what someone hosting a similar festival would have received.
The closing ceremony, where international and Arab competitions prizes are to be announced, will be held in the Sound and Light Theater at the foot of the pyramid and funded by the Tourism Promotion Authority and directed by Walid Aouny, Farid added.
Farid stressed the need to hold a press conference to clarify some facts about the festival and to respond to what was published during interviews with the festival management, adding that he did not want to conduct any press interviews while the festival was in progress.
