With British cinema being the guest of honor this year, the British movie "Death at a Funeral" kicked off the 31st Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) at Cairo Opera House Tuesday evening.
More than 160 movies from 55 countries are competing for twelve prizes, including the "Golden Pyramid for the best film" and the " Silver Pyramid for the special jury prize."
Eight Chinese films will be screened during the event, with Little Moth competing for digital feature film prize.
Chinese actress Zhang Jingchu, who won the Best Actress Award of last year's CIFF, is one of the international jury members of the film festival.
During the 11-day festival, the organizer will hold five specialized seminars, tackling European support funds, the future of digital cinema in Egypt, relationship between television and cinema industry, intellectual property rights and marketing Arab films at international festivals.
The 31st CIFF will also celebrate the 100th anniversary of Egyptian cinema.
On the sidelines of the film festival, Egyptian Culture Minister Farouq Hosni on Tuesday received the Fellini Gold Medal awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in recognition to his contributions to developing the cultural sector in Egypt.
(CRI.cn November 28, 2007)