Hala Lotfy's Coming Forth by Day Receives a Warm Welcome during Its Premiere

Screening in Egyptian Theaters Next Wednesday

Hala Lotfy's Coming Forth by Day Receives a Warm Welcome during Its Premiere

Hala Lotfy's Coming Forth by Day has sparked the interest of the audience during its premiere yesterday, Wednesday. Attended by the cast and crew of the film, the event was held at Zawya Initiative screening base theatre in Odeon Cinema, downtown, Cairo. Coming Forth by Day will be launched in the Egyptian theaters next week.

The premiere saw the attendance of several filmmakers, critics and celebrities such as Director Yousry Nasrallah, Amr Abed, Writer and Author Ezz Eldin Shokry Fishere, Scriptwriter Wissam Soliman, Filmmaker Marian Khoury, Director Amir Ramsis and Mona Salman, along with film critics including Magdy El Tayeb, Amal El Gamal, Osama Abdel Fattah, Safaa El Leithy and Nahed Ezz Al Arab.

Among the first filmmakers to congratulate the director of the movie was Director Yousry Nasrallah who commented on Coming Forth By Day by saying, "I saw Coming Forth by Day twice in Carthage Film Festival and I'm still taken by the film; the cinematic language is truly unique and expressive about the innermost feelings of the characters even with the minimal use of dialogue."

Commenting on the premiere of the film in a public screening, Director Amir Ramsis stated, "The film is very unique. It leaves us with a surge of emotions following its end and it is highly important to showcase such works to the audience. I believe the time has come to present such type of cinematic works to the audience." On the ending of the movie, prominent TV host Mona Salman stated, "The film has a state of melancholy that leads us to empathize with its characters. As much as the ending has conveyed the message of the film, as much as it was a surprise." While Critic Nahed Ezz Al Arab praised the director of the film and said, "Coming Forth by Day is up to par with the mindset, intellectuality and talent of Hala Lotfy, besides it meets our expectations after our long wait for her feature debut."

Coming Forth by Day will be in Egyptian theaters next Wednesday, April 30th, 2014. Co-produced by Hassala Films and NY Consultancy, the film won a distribution grant from World Cinema Fund, an initiative supported by Berlin International Film Festival. In addition, Coming Forth by Day landed in the 94th place on the Dubai International Film Festival's list of the 100 Most Important Arab Films, making it the most recent film included on the list.

Written and directed by Hala Lotfy, Coming Forth by Day tells the story of a poor family living in a shabby neighborhood on the outskirts of Cairo. The pillar of the family, a single 30-year-old woman (Donia Maher), finds it difficult to express her feelings and dreams, while she spends her time only taking care of her wheelchair-bound father (Ahmed Lotfy) and mother (Salma Al-Naggar) who works as a nurse.

The film won several prizes in several international film festivals during 2012; such as FIPRESCI award for the Best Narrative Feature and the Best Director from the Arab World in Abu Dhabi Film Festival within the New Horizons competition, the Bronze Tanit at the Official Competition in Carthage Film Festival, the Golden Lion in Oran Arab Film Festival within the official competition, and the Best African Film Award within the African Film Competition at African Film Festival in Milan.

In October, 2013, the film received three awards at the Alexandria Mediterranean Countries Film Festival; Best Director Award as part of the festival's International Competition, and within the Egyptian Film Panorama Competition two awards namely; Best Film Award and Best Director Award for Hala Lotfy. In addition, actress Do'aa Ereikat has received a Certificate of Appreciation for her role in one scene. November also witnessed the film's winning of Best Director Award in Kazan International Film Festival.

Hala Lotfy's Coming Forth by Day participated in various international film festivals; it was screened as part of the Egyptian Independent Cinema within the frame work of Luxor Egyptian and European Film Festival in January, 2014. The film also screened as part of Emerging Directors section at the 6th Panorama of the European Film, which took place in December, 2013. Also it was part of the 6th Cairo International Women's Film Festival in November, 2013. Coming Forth by Day traveled to Morocco to participate in the International Film Festival Trnssaharien in Zagora in the same month that witnessed its screening in the British Film Institute (BFI), London, as part of Discover Arab Cinema program.

Furthermore, the film screened in Netherlands, Spain and Greece where it took part in the 54th Thessaloniki International Film Festival where the film received a Special Mention for Cinematography for Director of Photography Mahmoud Lotfy from the festival's international jury
committee.

Coming Forth by Day has been selected to be screened at the opening ceremony of the Arab Camera Festival Rotterdam, in November 2013, and in the Arab and Mediterranean Film Festival of Catalonia in Spain, that concluded its events in November 10th, 2013.

The film proved its success by screening in several international film festivals including Berlin International Film Festival within the framework of Berlinale Forum 2013, the Official Competition at Luxor African Film Festival 2013, Ayam Beirut Al Cinema'iya 2013, the Official Competition within Tetouan International Mediterranean Film Festival in Morocco, and Bird's Eye View International Film Festival which aims to shed the light on women's contributions to the cinema. In its most recent installment, the focus was to celebrate Arab women filmmakers.