SAT-7 Wins Prizes For Quality Film Production In Egypt

CAIRO, March 13, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Saturday, March 8th, filmmakers celebrated at an awards ceremony for the Egyptian short film competition, "Dialogue without Walls." SAT-7 and national television stations aired the ceremony live from the Nile Hall in downtown Cairo, Egypt.

Through the competition, SAT-7 aims to encourage conversation and build bridges between people of different political and religious backgrounds. It also gives young filmmakers a platform to express their views independently of commercial pressures.

A committee of independent judges chose three award winners from 52 film submissions. First prize was awarded to "The Shot," produced by Tamer Arnest, a young Egyptian filmmaker living in Kuwait.

SAT-7 productions earned the second and third prizes. Second prize went to "A Harmonic Film," directed by Shokry Zikry with screen play by Amir Nessim. "A Harmonic Film" is about a young filmmaker trying to win an award. His mentor advises him to compromise his values to impress the audience but he stands by his convictions.

Third prize went to "Braids," produced by Farid Garas. "Braids" is about a young woman fighting for freedom from misconceptions about women in the conservative Middle Eastern community. Both SAT- 7 films were produced in December 2013 in partnership with the Family Life Network.

SAT-7 organized "Dialogue without Walls" in collaboration with the Catholic Cinema Center and Synod of the Nile: Dialogue Council. The Catholic Cinema Center is highly respected for its values, as it is the only institute that can nominate Egyptian films for the Oscars and Cannes festivals. Mainstream industry professionals followed the awards ceremony with positive remarks.

Farid Garas, Executive Director of SAT-7 Egypt, points out the importance of encouraging high quality Christian filmmaking: "I believe we have the best redemptive stories to tell but sometimes we miss telling them in the best way…We have to speak to the world in a language they understand. The art of filmmaking is certainly one of the best ways to do that, and young people are the best ones to do that."

Since 1996, SAT-7 has brought quality Christian television programming via satellite to over 15 million viewers in the Middle East and North Africa. With an international headquarters in Cyprus and six channels, SAT-7 broadcasts in Arabic, Farsi, and Turkish. Find out more at www.sat7usa.org.

Contact: Melissa Fleck
Phone: 410-770-9804
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE SAT-7