36th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) will organize a special tribute seminar in commemoration of the life and cinematic contributions of critic/ journalist Qusai Saleh Darwish who passed away last Thursday in Paris after a long battle with severe illness.

Born in Syria in 1951, Darwish moved to France in his early youth. In the early 1990s, Darwish was a key participant in CIFF's seminars and a regular guest of the festival. He had strong friendships with tens of filmmakers and critics in Egypt and the Arab world.

Darwish is also a well-versed writer and critic who is recognized for his virtuosity. The Ministry of Culture in Egypt has published an anthology of his articles and writings on Egyptian cinema.

Regarded as one of the most ingenious Arab journalists in interviewing artists, Darwish was famous for his eloquent interview with Faten Hamama - when she returned to Egypt- Soad Hosny, Ahmed Zaki and many others. One of Darwish's most remarkable achievements is providing daily coverage of Cannes Film Festival over the course of 20 years through his column in the London-based Asharq Al Awsat newspaper. He also established a pan-Arab publishing house in Paris, which has released several books and periodicals on various fields, including Cinema magazine, where Darwish held the position of Editor-in-Chief. This magazine has published 41 issues and became an indispensable cinematic reference for Arab critics and researchers.