Cinema “Oriental”: Asian and Arab Films at the Cairo International Film Festival

<jats:p>Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), one of the oldest film festivals in the Middle East and on the African continent, is a fascinating and fascinatinglycomplicated institution in the cluttered international festival landscape, that includes younger and excessively wealthier upstarts like Dubai International Film Festival. CIFF’s 30th installment in December 2006 presented and promoted commercial and arthouse-bound Arab films, while also demonstrating a commitment to celebrating world cinema more generally. The mainland Chinese film The Road , an earnest Cultural Revolution love story directed by Zhang Jiarui, was showered with top film prize of the Golden Pyramid as well as acting awards for its leads: Zhang Jingchu (recently tapped by Hollywood for Rush Hour 3 ), Best Actress for her role as an exuberant ticket-taker, and Special Mention for Fan Wei as an older bus conductor who becomes her husband.</jats:p>