The 36th Cairo International Film Festival Hosts the Latest Works of Cinema's Greatest Directors in the World

Godard's Trio, Boorman's Bomb, Cronenberg's Obsession and Schlöndorff's Enemies

The 36th Cairo International Film Festival Hosts the Latest Works of Cinema's Greatest Directors in the World

The administration of Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), headed by Samir Farid, Festival President, has revealed that the festival has obtained the screening rights of a slew of the latest works of the world's greatest directors. To be showcased within the 36th edition,
from 9-18 November, the line-up films include Goodbye to Language by legendary French-Swiss director Jean- Luc Godard; Map to the Stars by David Cronenberg; John Boorman's Queen and Country, and Diplomacy by Volker Schlondorff, who is a guest of honor in this festival edition.

Goodbye to Language will be the only feature film to receive a three-time screening in this edition. The film received the Jury Prize award at the 67th Cannes Film Festival in 2014. Written, edited and directed by Jean- Luc Godard, Goodbye to Language stars Héloise Godet, Kamel Abdeli and Richard Chevallier.

Placing this sentence "An experiment in the literary investigation," at the opening titles of the film, Godard further explains his idea saying, "a married woman and bachelor meet; they fall in love. They fight; they turn tables at each other; a homeless dog wanders the countryside and town; seasons pass by; the man meets the woman again; the dog finds himself between them; they become a trio. The ex-husband destroys everything and we're back to zero point, yet, it's not as it may seem. In the human race there lays the metaphor; when the film ends with the dog's bark and a child's cries."

On the other hand, CIFF will also screen David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars, which earned its star Julianne Moore the Best Actress Award at Cannes Film Festival. Starring Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinsonand and John Cusack, the film delves into the obsession of the American society with celebrities through the troubled mentally-deranged "Weiss" family, whose life abounds with secrets and insecurities and becomes on the verge of crumbling.

John Boorman's Queen and Country is also featured on the list of the festival screenings. Starring Callum Turner, Caleb Landry Jones and Pat Shortts, the film tells the story of a 9 -year-old boy who excitedly becomes overjoyed when his school gets bombed by a German raid in 1943, to only find himself at the age of 18 in 1952 waiting for the military service call.

In his most recent film, German director Volker Schlöndorff presents his German-French feature Diplomacy, a historical drama set in 1944 when Hitler orders his forces not to let France to be seized by his enemies, and should this happen, the city must be completely destroyed.

Based on a play by Cyril Gely, the film stars Niels Arestrup, Andre Dussollier and Burghart Klaußner. Diplomacy will screen as part of Schlöndorff's honoring at CIFF, which also grants him the Naguib Mahfouz Lifetime Achievement Award (The Golden Pyramid). The festival will also screen Schlöndorff's Baal (1978) within the Classics of Feature Films section.

CIFF has previously announced that the festival will kick off with Fatih Akin's The Cut as the opening film, whereas Pantelis Voulgaris' Little England was selected to be the closing film of the 36th edition.