Hala Lotfy: Viewers Will Relate to the Events of Coming Forth by Day after the First Ten Minutes

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Hala Lotfy: Viewers Will Relate to the Events of Coming Forth by Day after the First Ten Minutes

A week after its premiere, which saw the presence of several filmmakers, critics and celebrities along with moviegoers in a public event, Hala Lotfy's Coming Forth by Day will be released today, Wednesday April 30th, 2014, by MAD Solutions, the film's distributor.

Commenting on the film's commercial release in Egypt, following a successful tour in film festivals, Director Hala Lotfy stated, "Films such as Coming Forth by Day cannot survive without the support of the Egyptian audience. The films live on when the audience take the time to go and watch them at theatres, giving reason to their existence. This pressure calls for making such films that already have its own audience." She added that the film was screened in local and international film festivals and also took part at commercial film screenings in Europe.

Alaa Karkouti, CEO at MAD Solutions, regards the film's theatrical release as an important step to support films with artistic vision, which required the collaboration of several filmmaking entities. "It's worth referring to the important role played by Al Arabia Cinema Production and Distribution through dedicating all of its theatres to screen only Egyptian films throughout the year, which is highly important to sustain the screening of different types of films in theatres," Karkouti added.

Coming Forth by Day screens in: Cairo | Nile City, in Nile Corniche, Wonderland in Nasr City, Zawya Initiative (Odeon cinema) in downtown, Alexandria | San Stefano.

Hala pointed out that there is a sector in the audience who would like to watch movies free of belly dancing or shaabi songs. "When this slice of cinemagoers cares about watching the films that meet their standards, these films will gain revenues and thus the process will be complete, and we will be able to make other films. At that point, they will no longer be categorized as independent films or fall under any other category. But, they will become commercial films after which the audience will be seeking to watch. In order to make such films live, they must be given an opportunity in distribution to reach the audience," the film's director added.
During the commercial screening of the film in one of the countries, Hala Lotfy recalls an incident that occurred and that is when a technical problem caused the screening to stop for 20 minutes. But, the audience stayed in their seats to find out what the main female character is destined for. There were people who developed a sense of unity with the main character and the events of the film.

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.

Describing Coming Forth by Day, Hala said, "It's not a difficult film and does not contain a difficult a narrative style. On the contrary, it resembles our daily life and is narrated in a simple way." She added that the house, where the incidents take place, carries an authentic Egyptian style and reminds us of our normal life. "The important thing in the film is that the viewers are a main partner in grasping the meaning of the film as they think about their lives differently while watching the film," she explained.

In a message to the audience who will yet to watch the film, Hala Lotfy said, "I hope that the audience can be patient in the first ten minutes as this the toughest part because the rhythm, which the film is following in the beginning, is unusual."

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.

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 in 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 BronzeTanit 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 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, Coming Forth by Day 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.