Two Screenings for The Gate of Departure in France and Alexandria

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Best Film in 2015 by the Egyptian Film Critics Association

Two Screenings for The Gate of Departure in France and Alexandria


After being selected as the Best Film in 2015 by Egyptian Film Critics Association, Director Karim Hanafy's The Gate of Departure will be part of Mawassem- Saisons du Cinéma Arabe (Seasons of the Arab Cinema) in France (7-11 April). Contending at the Longs Métrages de Fiction (Narrative Feature Films) section, the film will screen on Sunday April 10th, 2016. The film also will have a screening at Wekalet Behna in Alexandria on Thursday, the 14th of April, where it will be followed by a panel discussion with the film's director, Karim Hanafy.

In March, Karim Hanafy's The Gate of Departure earned four awards, along with a Certificate of Appreciation at the 64th Egyptian Catholic Center Cinema Festival. The Gate of Departure won the Special Jury Award, Best Cinematography (Zaki Aref), Best Music (Rageh Daoud), jointly with the film Out of the Ordinary, Best Actress in a Leading Role (Salwa Khattab), together with Naglaa Badr for her role in Out of the Ordinary. The Gate of Departure received a Certificate of Appreciation after it has competed in the 64th edition of the festival, as one of the best five Egyptian films in 2015 complied with the ethical and humanitarian criteria outlined by the Egyptian Catholic Center Cinema Festival.

Karim Hanafy's The Gate of Departure has also marked the biggest number of awards at the 42nd
Egyptian Cinema Film Association Festival 2016, as it received six awards. The awards are; Best Film,
Best Director (Karim Hanafy), Best Cinematography (Zaki Aref), Best Music (Rageh Daoud), Best Sound
(Alaa El Kashef) and Best Poster Design (Theodore Amin).The Gate of Departure had its first award at Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) 2014 where it landed as the only Egyptian official selection and won the Silver Pyramid Award for Best Artistic Contribution.

Recently, the film took part in the 4th Luxor Arab & European Film Festival within the Nights of Egyptian Cinema section, and the 3rd Sudan Independent Film Festival (SIFF) in Sudan. The film had its US premiere through the Arab Film Festival in San Francisco, which is one of the biggest and longest-standing annual independent film events screening modern contemporary films from and about the Arab world. It also took part in the Kalamazoo World Languages Film Festival in Michigan, USA, and the Silk Road Film Festival in Dublin, Ireland.

"You, who have always been here, you will be everywhere." The Gate of Departure is a story of a prophecy that has always haunted a son growing to manhood in his mother's desolated home. The son is unable to begin his journey beyond the boundaries of these walls repressed by feelings of guilt towards his mother, who chooses to imprison herself for the rest of her life, guarding her only son as she helplessly witnesses her beauty slipping away day by day. The sorrowful mother refuses to let go of the gift that life has granted her. Only a whirlwind of painful dreams that pave the way for her son's departure teaches her to accept her eternal solitude, thus opening the door for him to begin his long journey to himself.

Written and directed by Karim Hanafy, The Gate of Departure stars Salwa Khattab, Ahmed Magdy, Amaal Abdel Hady and Shams Labib. The film is produced by Khaial Art Production with support from Egypt's Ministry of Culture.

With MAD Solutions on board as the film's distributor in the Arab world through its distribution arm MAD Distribution, the company has released the film in Egyptian cinemas across Cairo for two weeks.

Screening times of The Gate of Departure at Mawassem- Saisons du Cinéma Arabe:
Sunday, 10th of April at 08:15 pm (GMT+2)

Screening times of The Gate of Departure at Wekalet Behna in Alexandria:
Thursday, 14th of April at 07:00 pm (GMT+2)