Cairo Int'l film festival kicks off with China as guest of honor

The 38th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) opened on Tuesday in the Egyptian capital, with China as the guest of honor of the oldest film festival in the Middle East region.

The event features more than 200 movies from 61 countries with 16 of them contesting for the Golden Pyramid Best Film Prize.

This year's edition is dedicated to late iconic Egyptian actor Mahmoud Abdul Aziz who passed away earlier this week.

Chinese participation comes months after Chinese-Egyptian Culture Year was launched by the two countries to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of their mutual diplomatic relations.

Along with local, Arabic and Western movies, the festival's program also comprises 15 Chinese films from over a decade (2001-2015), which gives an intrinsic retrospective into modern Chinese filmmaking of the 21st century.

Films made by Chinese director Jia Zhangke, who received on Tuesday night the festival's Excellence Award, Zhang Yimou and Diao Yinan will also be screened during the festival.

"This is the first time I come to the great city of Cairo and the great country of Egypt," Jia Zhangke told Xinhua. "This year there will be many Chinese movies to be screened here. I welcome all of you to watch them."

This year's jury includes nine names from the cinema world, including Chinese director and scriptwriter Li Yu.

Since 1976, the CIFF has been the premiere in Africa and the Middle East. In 2011 and 2013, the festivals were canceled for security reasons, as they coincided with the ouster of two heads of state in the most populous Arab country. Enditem