release date February 11 2015
World Cinema Fund Selects Coming Forth by Day to Launch Its New Initiative WCF ON DEMAND
Following its successful marches at several international film festivals, Hala Lotfy's Coming
Forth by Day has been selected by World Cinema Fund (WCF) to launch its latest initiative WCF on Demand. The initiative serves as a Video on Demand (VOD) platform, making WCF's films accessible worldwide. Setting off on February 11th, 2015, with 10 films taking part at the service, Coming Forth by Day will be available for the service's users until 2017.

This comes after Hala Lotfy's win of the Best Directorial Debut at the 41st Egyptian Film Association Festival where the film also received the Best Sound award for Kostas Varybopiotis. Among 36 films released in 2014, the Egyptian Film Association Festival selected best 7 Egyptian films, including Hala Lotfy's Coming Forth by Day, to vie at this year's edition. Winners will receive their awards at the closing ceremony on Saturday, February 14th, 2015.

Directed and written by Hala Lotfy, Coming Forth by Day is co-produced by Hassala Films and NY Consultancy. The film won a grant for the distribution in Germany from the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, and was distributed in 5 German cities. The film was also screened in Austria and Switzerland through Arsenal - Institute for Film and Video Art. In April, 2014, Coming Forth by Day was released in theatres by MAD Solutions, who owns the distribution rights regionally and internationally in all platforms.

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.

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.

The film won several prizes in several international film festivals during 2012, including; 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 including the 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. The film traveled to Morocco to participate in the International Film Festival Transsaharien 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 Eye View Film Festival, which aims to shed the light on women's contributions to the cinema.
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