Singer Ghalia Ben Ali to perform at Panorama's closing event

Tunisian singer Ghalia Ben Ali is set to perform at Plaza Cinema on Saturday 7 December as part of the closing day of the Sixth European Film Panorama, which kicked off on 27 November in Cairo. Panorama, an annual event showcasing award-winning feature films and documentary productions from across Europe, is held from 27 November until 7 December this year. The event is hosted in three theatres across Cairo: Galaxy in Al-Manial, Cinema Stars in Heliopolis and Plaza in Sheikh Zayed. This year’s team is working under the supervision of Marianne Khoury, who founded the Panorama in 2004 and is also co-manager of Misr International Films. The festival consists of six sections this year: European Cinema, Documentary Rendezvous, First-Time Directors, Education and Cinema, Panorama Classics and Short Films. The closing event will kick off with a screening of Lebanese documentary Layaly Bala Nom (Sleepless Nights) by director Eliane Raheb at 3.30pm. The film won the Best Documentary Award at the London Birds Eye View Festival in 2013, and was named the Critics’ Choice for best film at this year's Ismailia Film Festival. Through the stories of Assad Shaftari, a former high-ranking leader in a Christian militia who was responsible for many killings during the Lebanese civil war, and Maryam Saiidi, the mother of a young kidnapped fighter, the film looks closely at war wounds and asks if redemption and forgiveness are possible. Layaly Bala Nomwill be followed by a screening of Villa 69 by Egyptian director Ayten Amin, starring Lebleba, Arwa Gouda, and Khaled Aboul Naga. The drama debuted at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival this year, where it won the Special Jury Award in the Arab World category. The performance by Ghalia Ben Ali, known for fusing elements of Arabic classical music with jazz and Indian tunes, will follow. The closing film of this year’s Panorama will be French film Jeune & Jolie (Young & Beautiful), which was nominated for a Palme D’Or at Cannes International Film Festival this year. It received the TVE Otra Mirada Award at the 2013 San Sebastian International Film Festival. Jeune & Jolie presents a portrait of a French girl told over four stages – her sexual awakening, her first time, her exploration of love, and her search for identity. Source: Ahram Online