Danis Tanović to Head Cairo Film Festival Jury, ‘Back to Alexandria,’ Starring Fanny Ardant and Nadine Labaki, to Play in Competition
variety.comLeo Barraclough International Features Editor Bosnian director and screenwriter Danis Tanović, whose “No Man’s Land” won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, has been selected as the president of the Official Competition Jury at the 45th edition of the Cairo Film Festival.
As well as the Oscar, “No Man’s Land” won best screenplay at Cannes in 2001. Tanović has also directed films such as 2005’s “L’enfer,” starring Emmanuelle Béart, 2009’s “Shell Shock,” starring Colin Farrell and Paz Vega, “An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker,” which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale in 2013, and “Death in Sarajevo,” which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale in 2016.
Amir Ramsis, director of the festival, said Danis Tanović had been “crowned in cinema history with major international awards from the Academy, Cannes and Berlin.” He added: “I am delighted that our festival has always given its audience the opportunity to interact with names that have made cinema history from different countries of the world.” Festival president Hussein Fahmy said: “Danis Tanović is one of the most important film names in the world, and his films have won many awards at the most prestigious film festivals, and we are proud to have him as the jury president of this year’s international competition.” Cairo also announced that Tamer Ruggli’s debut feature “Back to Alexandria” would make its Middle East and North Africa premiere in the competition section.
The film stars French actor Fanny Ardant and Lebanese actor-director Nadine Labaki. The film is also playing at Zurich Film Festival.
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