Egypt is going through some very interesting times right now; last week the elections started. Elections should automatically demonstrate the democratic process, but all that came out of it is violence and fraud; no matter how many television ads they may use to try to portray it as otherwise, the election really just brought the worst in people. Then on November 30, the 34th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) premiered, which is essentially supposed to bring the best of the best in Egyptian cinema, especially this year where the platform is “Egypt in the Eye of World Cinema”. In the Arab World as well as the West, there is already a preconceived notion of what Egypt is all about. There are those who see us as terrorists, but probably wouldn't be able to pick us out on a map with arrows pointing toward the country, and then there are those who think that we ride camels to work and live in tents. Sometimes they think all of these at the same time. The violence, deception, and hatred that has come to be at the heart of this election isn't painting us as anything other than what the former already thinks of us. Forbes magazine has reported that the Obama administration is raising serious question about the fairness of Egypt's parliamentary elections, saying it is disappointed by reports of voter intimidation, arrests of opposition supports and a ban on independent vote monitors in their close US ally. Then there is the CIFF platform, which has (continually) draped itself with the ultimate in Egypt cliches of pyramids, the Sphinx, and Cleopatra‚ whose life have been portrayed in many films around the world. With that platform, it seems we are just confirming the notion that we are still desert people. As “cool” of a nation that might be for a lot of people, it still doesn't paint a clear picture of Egypt as it is today. Perhaps because Egyptians love to live out glories from the past as though there really hasn't been much to be greatly proud of recently, so we would rather paint a picture of an outdated reality for the outside world, rather than facing them with truth. But do we really need the approval of the West, especially America. We really don't, but clearly do at the same time, and we go after it; no matter what anyone's views are, we still seek approval. With elections voting process getting a do-over, and the only prominent international guest to visit the festival this year is the American actor Richard Gere; it seems like really empty posturing. Nothing against Richard Gere or anything, but if they could have gotten Heidi Klum, they would have given her a lifetime achievement award. We are dealing with really fascinating times right now, and it's deception at its best. Perhaps CIFF should have made its platform “elections on film” and how they have been portrayed on film. I mean, there haven't been that many in Egyptian Cinema, but there have been a few such as “Bekhit wa `Adila 2: El Gardal wel- Kanka” (Bekhit and `Adila 2: The Bucket and the Carafe” 1997) and “Al-Bedaya” (The Beginning, 1984) which was an almost perfect comedic film about dictatorship. On the other hand, there have been many American films that depicted elections in various ways to mirror the big picture, such as “Election” (1999), which revolves around a three-way election in high school, and satirises both suburban high school life as well as politics, and many others such as “Bulworth” (1998), Primary Colours (1998), etc. Do we really need to know what Egypt looks like in the eyes of the world? Is our ranking that important? Actually, it really is because we don't live in the world all alone. But at same time, we do have our own traditions and our own culture that we try to preserve. Seeking approval actually contradicts the approval we seek from the outside world, because regardless if we say we don't seek approval or not, we won't get it. There have been many radio talk shows and TV news programs saying that elections in the West would never go through the chaos that the Egyptian elections are going through. At the same time, we can't really compare elections, because ultimately we are not up to par. We put on film festivals trying to portray Egypt in the best light possible in a time where Egyptian politics – which is really, in a way, the true depiction of what is happening in Egypt all the time is failure. Failure in the people's voices not being heard is a failure of democracy, and to a great extent it illustrates the greatest point of hypocrisy. On television, we're seeing an endless parade of pretty dresses, glitz, and glamour. The CIFF is trying to show this as the “face of Egypt” and ironically it is the complete counterpoint to the protests occurring in the streets. Egypt seems to be falling through this crack, and is not sure which side it wants to come out of, and with what's going on, it doesn't bode well. History repeats itself, and in way this is what's happening now; with the protesters and the chaos that's going on with the election, it mirrors the revelation except we actually have less freedom. This contrasts with what the CIFF is doing: trying to relive a history that we may never be able to relive again. It seems to really come down to the idea that everything that we do in the Egyptian media is just to give us a better image to the outside world, and not really concerned with the Egyptian citizen. No matter how much the media tries to portray Egypt In certain light, the citizens still deal with Egypt's bureaucratic ways. In other words, it seems that the festival isn't really done for Egyptians. Most Egyptians are too busy looking at the chaotic elections, and the so CIFF appears to be just another piece of attempted distraction.
