Egyptian film wins at Mediterranean Film Festival of Montpellier

The 35th International Mediterranean Film Festival of Montpellier has awarded its highest prize - the Golden Antigone - to Egyptian film Farsh w Ghata (Rags and Tatters), by filmmaker Ahmad Abdalla. The film follows a nameless fugitive, who escaped from prison in the aftermath of 25 January 2011, as he wanders through a city he barely recognises, looking for warmth, shelter and a safe place to stay. Farsh w Ghata has already been screened to positive reviews at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, and was part of the London Film Festival's official competition and the Narrative Competition at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. It will also be screening at the 'A State of the World and Cinema' Film Festival in Paris, running 8-17 November, along with a selection of other Egyptian films. The film competed in the feature film competition at Montpellier with eleven other titles from countries including Spain, Croatia, Ukraine, Italy and Israel - as well as three films from other Arab countries: Girafada (Rani Massalah, Palestine), They Are the Dogs (Hicham Lasri, Morocco) and Ladder to Damascus (Mohamed Malas, Syria). The last Egyptian film to win Montpellier's Golden Antigone was Atef Hetata's Al Abwab Al Moghlaqa (Closed Doors) in 1999. Source: Ahram online