Aswan International Women Film Festival

Festival Opening Ceremony

5 March 2023

Remarks by

Ambassador Christian Berger, Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt

Dear Minister El Kilany, Dear Governor Attia Abdel-Bari, Dear Ambassador Talawi, Dear President Abdel Khalek, dear colleagues, guests and cinema lovers,

In this enchanting city of Aswan, it is my great pleasure once again, to participate in the 'Aswan International Women Film Festival'. It's the fourth time for the European Union!

What a wonderful evening to share with partners and friends, and see such a great representation from the cinematographic world, culture and the media. And allow me to offer already today my warmest congratulations to everyone on the occasion of the 'International Women's Day' on 8 March.

Thanks to the partnership with the festival and thanks to the continued support of the Government of Egypt, creative cinematic work has found its place at this festival here in Aswan.

This festival is an opportunity to articulate the aspirations as well as the challenges of women through the magic art of cinema. Gender equality is a founding value of the European Union and women empowerment is a key priority in the EU-Egypt partnership withjoint actions by EU Member States, setting important priorities with women at their centre.

Coming right after COP27 it is only natural that the seventh edition of the festival raises attention about climate change. It has a considerable negative impact on the life of everyone, especially the lives of women. The European Union dedicates projects that mitigate the effects of climate change on women, promoting women's empowerment through climate friendly actions, and support women as decision makers in environment related fields.

It would be a great opportunity to highlight these issues through cinema, the arts, and culture.

As we celebrate the seventh edition of the festival, I would like to commend the efforts to widen the participation from different countries, especially films representing EU Member States and the Mediterranean region. Cultural and societal exchanges across the Euro-Mediterranean region, and among women and youth, are key priorities of the EU-Southern Mediterranean Agenda.

Now in the fourth year, the European Union is supporting two main activities in the festival:

- Training workshops in cinematic fields for young women and men.

- An EU Prize in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean competition.

Before I conclude, I extend my great appreciation to this year's laureates: Ms. Nabila Ebeid, Dr. Doria Sharaf El-Din, Ms. Salma Baccar, and from the European Union: Ms. Cuca Escribano and Ms. Mijke de Jong.

As we recognise the magnificent contributions of these outstanding women, we need not forget that in many parts of the world, including in Egypt, men have also accomplished great cinematic works that manifested women's issues with great depth.

Tonight is an occasion to pay tribute to the prominent late Ihsan Abdel Quddous, a man who dedicated most of his writings, for decades, to women and gender equality themes based of which numerous films by Ms. Nabila Ebeid's were based.

It is an honour to be with you today and wishing for a successful new edition of the 'Aswan International Women Film Festival'.

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