The Egyptian Cinema Syndicate, under the helm of Mosad Fouda, has signed a cooperation protocol with Waey NGO, led by Tamer El-Shehawy, to boost an initiative titled Baheb El-Cima launched by director Sameh Mostafa, CEO and founder of a company of the same name.
The project, which aims to “develop Egyptian cinema production,” is planned to produce 12 films a year to be screened in various cities and villages across the country s governorates at affordable ticket prices.
"This initiative, which I started developing four years ago, needs state participation to build a cinema industry that fulfills the ambitions of the people to create work opportunities for the youth and to shed light on new talents," Mostafa was quoted as saying by Al-Ahram Arabic new website.
El-Shehawy, who is also a former military general, says he considers the idea a "national project that promotes society s ethics and values across different social classes in light of the political leadership s serious encouragement of the development of Egyptian [film] production to bring it back to its leading role in the region."
Last week, a similar project, under the name Cima Masr , was launched by another NGO; the Egyptian Foundation for Strategic Studies & Research (EFSSR), with whom director Mostafa had previously worked.