Egyptian film festival comes to the capital

New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS) Cine fans in the capital will be treated to some of the best films from Egypt to be showcased during the Egyptian Cinema Week beginning here Wednesday.

The film 'Sleepless Night' will kick-start the festival, which focuses on 'Modern Egyptian Cinema', at the Siri Fort Auditorium.

The opening of the Cine Week was announced Tuesday by the Embassy of Egypt in association with Directorate of Film Festivals, information and broadcasting ministry and Egyptian Tourist Authority.

The initiative is a part of the Visit Egypt 2008 campaign, which is aimed at celebrating historical links between Egypt and India, the continuing cultural ties between the countries and to promote Egyptian tourism in India.

'Girls' Secrets', 'Leisure Times', 'Girls' Love' and 'Egyptian Tale' are the other films that will be shown during the three-day fest.

'It gives me immense pleasure to hold such a prestigious event in India which is also a part of the cultural week and an initiative of our tourism campaign, Visit Egypt 2008. We believe that like Arab cinema has achieved popularity worldwide, our films receive the same response in India,' said Mohamed Higazy, ambassador of Egypt in India.

Tourism is on the Egyptian government's priority list as they are earning $6 million every year from the industry. Nine million tourists visit the country annually of which 75,000 are from India.