By Suzana Rabello de Souza
Today (April 1st) starts the 2nd edition of the Sharm El Sheikh International Theater Festival For Youth, in Sinai, Egypt. And as planned by the organizers, more countries are recognizing its initiative and taking part in the competition. Besides Egypt, this year the Festival will welcome participants from:
- Russia
- South Korea
- UAE
- Marocco
- Serbia
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- Bahrain
- Oman
- Tunisia
- Algeria
- Jordan
- Libya
- KAS
- Lebanon
- Syria
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Italy
- France
- Germany
- Spain
- Poland
- Greece
- Romania
- Sweden
- Mexico
- Canada
- USA
- Argentina
Mazen El Gharabawy, who idealized the event, is now in the position of President of the Festival and Chairman of the Supreme Committee; while actress Wafaa El-Hakinhe takes the role of Director. The other names forming the Supreme Committee are Engy Al-Bestawy, Ali Olaian, Fabio Abraham, Dr. Fahad Al-Hagery and Hafez Khalifa. Check out below all the names involved in the 2nd edition of the Festival and the activities it’ll present.
The Honorees
The honorees for this year’s Festival are mainly from Egypt, but also include Lebanon and USA:
- Mahfouz Abd El-Rahman (Egypt): Graduated from Cairo University, in 1960, El Rahman is an Egyptian writer who worked as a journalist until 1963, when he became part of the Ministry of Culture in Egypt. Writer of short stories, novels and TV shows, he was awarded the State’s Encouragement Price in 1972 and the State’s Honorary Price in 2002, in addition for being nominated as Best Playwriter in 1983.
- Galal Alsharkawy (Egypt): Highly accomplished, Alsharkawy graduated from the Faculty of Science at Cairo University, in 1954, and in 1955 he gained a Specific Diploma in Education and Psychology, from Ain Shams University. After that, he graduated from the Higher Institute of Theatre Arts with A+ in 1958. In 1960 and in 1962 he also gained 2 diplomas in Theatre Direction.
- Nedal Alshafee (Egypt): Born in Cairo in 1978, actor Alshafee graduated from the Higher Institute of Theatre Arts, in 1999. He has worked in TV and cinema and was honored during the Theatre Festival 2011-2012, as a graduate of ALSAIDIA High School who actively participated in School Theatre.
- Sameh Hussain (Egypt): Born in 1975, he graduated from the Faculty of Law and then from Faculty of Arts (Department of Theatre). Hussain started his career as an actor in the TV series “Zizinia”, in 2000. However, he found his true talent working as a comedian and today performs leading roles in cinema and TV.
- Shazly Farah (Egypt): Actor, writer, theatre director and critic, Farah graduated from the Faculty of Arts, at Ain Shams University (Department of Social Development). He was also a member of the organizing committee of the first and second editions of the Egyptian Female Directors Festival and his works have received prizes and awards internationally.
- Mamoud Gamal (Egypt): Writer and director, he was born in Cairo in 1984. He graduated in the Faculty of Commerce at Ain Shams University. Gamal wrote more than thirty theater, TV and Cinema scripts, as well as worked as a director for many theater plays.
- Randa Alasmar (Lebanon): Alasmar is a leading Lebanese actress with a Master’s Degree in Theatre Arts. In 2012, she was chosen by the Arab Association of Theatre (Sharjah) as the honoree Lebanese actress during the Year of Woman in Arab Theatre. Currently, she is the director of Beirut’s Spring International Festival, held annually by Samir Kasir Association.
- Marvin Carlson (USA): Carlson is an American professor who has contributes largely to the field of theater research and criticism during the 20th and 21st With more than 250 scientific papers and works translated into 15 languages, Carlson also founded two prominent periodicals: the “European Stages” and the “Arab Stages”. He is now the director of the Center for Theater of Marvin Carlson, at Shanghai Academy of Theatre, and Professor of Sidney E. Cohen’s scholarship for Theatre, Comparative Literature and Middle East Studies, at C Center for post-Graduate Studies, at New York State University.
Committee of Choosing Performances
- Mohsen Mansour: Actor
- Wafaa Al-Hakim: Actress and Director of SITFY
- Ahmed Abd El-Aziz: Scenographer and Professor of Décor – the Higher Institute of Theatre Arts
- Engy Al-Bestawy: Assistant lecturer – the Higher Institute of Theatre Arts, Department of Performance and Direction
- Ibrahim Al-Husainy: Writer and Critic
SITFY International Jury
- Mikhail Jrifory: Actor and academic (Russia)
- Samira Mohsen: Actress and academic (Egypt)
- Dawood Hussain: Actor and goodwill ambassador for arts and friendship (Kuwait)
- Shadia Zaitoun: Scenographer and chairman of the Lebanese Artists Union (Lebanon)
- Dieter Top: Musician, academic and journalist (Germany)
- Atheer Ali: Professor of Theater Criticism – Autonoma university (Spain)
- Tito Lorvice: Puppeteer and academic (Argentina)
- Popolina Nikaky: Critic and Translator (Greece)
- Magdy Kamel: Actor and Acadmic (Egypt)
The honorary Seminar of Karam Motawea (The Knight of Arab Theater)
This year, the Festival will also hold an honorary seminar titled “Karam Motawea – The Knigh of the arab Theater”, presenting the following talks:
- Professor Hassan Atia will talk about the characteristics of Karam Motawea’s works;
- Professor Amr Dawara will talk about the works of Motawea as he was his first assistant in most of his works;
- Professor Ashraf Zaki, dean of the Higher Institute of Theater Arts, will talk about the academic works of Karam Motawea and his scientific approach;
- Egyptian actress Sohair Al-Murshedy will talk about Motawea the humanitarian and husband;
- Leading actress Hanan Motawea will talk about Karam Motawea the father.
The New Global Theater Scene – April 2nd 2017
First session:
Chairman: Ibrahim Al-Husainy
Spokesmen:
- Hesham Zain El-Din (Lebanon)
- Khaled Al-Dobany (Oman)
- Nemr Salmon (Spain)
- Magdy Bu Matar (Canada)
Second session:
Chairman: Dr. Sameh Mahran
Spokesmen:
- Said Al-Nagy (Morocco)
- Faisal Al-Kahtany (Kuwait)
- Omar Faratat (France – Morocco)
- Ibrahim Al-Harethy (KSA)
Professional Meetings – April 4th 2017
First session:
Chairman: Dr. Fahad Al-Hagery
Spokesmen:
- Luminita Dana Bersan (Romania)
- Ahmed Abu Raheema (UAE)
- Al-Asad Al-Gamousy (Tunisia)
- Abdullah Malak (Bahrain)
Second session:
Chairman: Ali Olaian
Spokesmen:
- Almera Saraciva (Russia)
- Gamal Al-Lahou (Kuwait)
- Mohamed Khamis (Oman)
- Gilan (France)
Schedule of Workshops
| No. | Trainer | Country | Title |
| 1- | Johana Grits | France | Performance inside a framework: the Model of Racine Theater |
| 2- | Israfeel Shahin | Bangladesh | Performance in open spaces: the model of beach theater |
| 3- | Sallam Said | Egypt | Street theater and workshop product (Heart of the Street) |
| 4- | Dr. Hammady Al-Wahaiby | Tunisia | Principles of theater direction for beginners |
| 5- | Faisal Al-Obaid | Kuwait | Scenography |
| 6- | Emilia Betlojioska | Poland | Puppets and Masks |
The Dramatic Writing Competition
A new addition to the 2017 SITFY is the creation of a writing competition. Aimed to encourage and improve the future of young authors and play writers, it is one of the Festival’s major initiatives during its second edition. Participants will be judged by Professor Dr. Hassan Atia (Chairman), Mohamed Mosaad (member) and Khaled Raslan (member).
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As a media partner of the SITFY and an admirer of the amazing hard work of everyone involved in the Festival, we at FabUK magazine are excited to see the event growing and becoming more popular.
Don’t forget to check our website for more news about the SITFY and the coverage of this year’s edition.