Cleopatra sparks controversy again… What happened at the Alexandria Film Festival?

Criticism of the Alexandria International Film Festival posterThe administration of the Alexandria Mediterranean Film Festival, headed by art critic Amir Abaza, announced the launch of the official poster for the 41st edition, which came under the slogan “Cinema in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” This was a few days before the start of the festival.The statement issued by the festival explained that artist Mohamed El-Komi designed the poster using artificial intelligence techniques to embody a visual vision that blends authenticity and modernity. Queen Cleopatra appears in a contemporary image that unites Pharaonic heritage and digital innovation. This is a symbolic reference to the festival’s ability to connect the ancient past with the creative present and the future.Elements that reflect the festival’s identityThe statement noted that the poster includes elements that reflect the festival’s identity and its affiliation with the city of Alexandria, which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. This is achieved by combining cinema symbols with waves as a cultural and artistic bridge between the two shores of the Mediterranean. However, the poster sparked a wave of harsh criticism from the public, filmmakers, and designers. They felt that the design was weak and did not represent Queen Cleopatra, and that the colors and details were inappropriate.Some followers commented, “This is neither intelligent nor artificial.” Others suggested that the festival administration organize a competition to design an alternative poster, while some designers offered to create a new design for free if the goal was to save money.Cinema in the age of artificial intelligenceAlexandria-based director Hazem Al-Attar said in an exclusive statement to Bab Masr – Bahri: “The problem with this edition began when the official poster was unveiled. If they had used a picture of Laila Alawi, the star of the 41st edition, it would have been much better.” He added that audience turnout for the film screenings was low despite the quality of the films. He explained that this was due to the screenings coinciding with seminars honoring the stars. In addition, there was a significant distance between the venue of the seminars in Antoniadis Gardens and the movie theaters in downtown Alexandria. As a result, the audience was unable to organize their time to attend.Al-Attar pointed out that the festival’s slogan, “Cinema in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” was not actually reflected in the festival’s events, as no seminars or activities related to artificial intelligence were organized. He also criticized the choice of a wedding hall in Antoniadis Gardens for the closing ceremony, saying: “We must bear in mind that this is a film festival with stars and a red carpet and special coordination. It should have been held in a venue more suited to the nature of the event.”Absence of officialsThe festival’s opening ceremony, held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Theater, did not see any official attendance from officials, neither the Minister of Culture, nor the Governor of Alexandria, nor even their deputies. This was unlike previous editions.The closing ceremony, held at the Antoniadis Gardens Theater, was also marred by a lack of organization. Although the festival administration had announced in advance that the governor of Alexandria would be in attendance, the audience was surprised to see the deputy governor instead. During her speech, a verbal altercation broke out between the governorate’s protocol officer and the ceremony organizers because the governorate’s photographer was prevented from going on stage. Afterwards, no news about the event’s attendance was published on the governorate’s official pages, contrary to what is usually the case.Honoring Alexandria’s icons or insulting them?Alexandrian artist Emad Khattab angered the public after publishing details of a seminar honoring Alexandria’s artistic icons. Most of the honorees did not attend, either because they were not informed of the date and location of the seminar, or because its location was changed at the last minute. In a post on his Facebook page, Khattab said that he had prepared the names of the honorees since the previous edition of the festival. He had prepared plaques with their names, but one of the festival team members insisted on adding other names that did not belong to Alexandrian art icons, according to his description.He added that the festival’s president, Prince Abaza, rejected this proposal because there were no plaques ready for these individuals. However, the member insisted on removing all names from the plaques so that they could be given to whomever he wanted. This angered the festival president and prompted him not to attend the ceremony, and the honorees themselves were also absent. It is noteworthy that artist Emad Khattab later hid his posts after they sparked significant interaction and anger on social media.