MedFest, Egypt’s first medically themed film forum, is back for the second edition with a brand new theme. This year’s event will take us on a cinematic voyage About Her. This could be your sister, your mother, your friend, or even you. Ladies, this one’s solely dedicated to you!
The festival, which is the first of its kind in the country, took off last year, 2017, and revolved around shattering stereotypes and false beliefs regarding mental illness. This time, the event will be tackling issues related to women’s health and how it’s dealt with in movies. Motherhood, puberty, pregnancy, menopause, female genital mutilation, cancer, and gender-based violence are all ironically considered taboos. However, this forum’s main objective is to stimulate a dialogue by linking a vital aspect of life; health, to an artistic medium such as film.
The event, held in Cairo and Alexandria, will feature screenings of relevant independent films that were carefully selected for the cause. Those films include both short films and feature films by international filmmakers from 10 different countries. The screenings will be followed by panel discussions between the audience, filmmakers, and those in this medical field; both doctors and students. In addition, a relevant program of workshops will be held in parallel. However, this will be limited to Cairo only.
Screenings in Cairo will take place between the 20th and 22nd of April at Cinema Karim Downtown, with French film Aurore as the opening film. On the other hand, screenings in Alexandria will be held on the 27th and 28th of April at Jesuit Cultural Center. As for the workshops, they’ll be taking place between the 24th and the 26th of April.