Egyptian filmmaker Amir Ramses joins the jury board of the long-feature fiction and documentary films competition at the 30th edition of Morocco’s Tetouan International Mediterranean Film Festival (TMFF), also known as Festival de Cinéma Méditerranéen de Tétouan, taking place from 26 April to 3 May.
The jury, chaired by renowned Italian director Daniele Luchetti, includes Moroccan director Asmae El Moudir, Portuguese director Isabel Machado, and French scriptwriter and film critic Nguyen Trong Bin.
They will select the winner from 10 films in the fiction and documentary competition, awarding the Tamuda Award, the festival’s top honor named after the ancient Berber city near modern-day Tetouan.
The jury will also present the Mohamed Rekab Jury Award, the Azeddine Medour Award for Best First Film, and awards for Best Actress and Best Actor.
TMFF highlights Mediterranean cinema by showcasing a range of films from Europe and the Arab world, in addition to seminars, panels, talks, and discussions by industry pioneers.
Amir Ramses
Ramses is among the best-known directors of his generation.
Born in 1979 and a graduate of the Higher Institute of Cinema, he has a large score of achievements as a film director.
He began his filmmaking career alongside Youssef Chahine, working as an assistant director before striking out on his own. In addition to directing, Ramses has written scripts for several of his films, including Jews of Egypt, a two-part documentary he directed and co-wrote with Mostafa Youssef in 2013 and 2014.
He also wrote and directed Cairo Time, which earned Sherif Ramzy a Best Supporting Actor Award at the Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema.
Ramses’ Curfew, which he wrote and directed, garnered numerous accolades at the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) in 2020, including Best Director, Best Film, and Best Actress (Elham Shahin). The film also won the Audience Award at the Malmo Film Festival in 2021 and swept most major awards at the 2021 Egyptian Catholic Centre Film Festival.
The film won 12 awards, dominating the Cairo Film Society’s major honors for films released in 2020.
Ramses served as artistic director of the El Gouna Film Festival from its inception in 2017 until he resigned before the closing ceremony of its fifth edition in 2021.
