Aswan International Women Film Festival names 9th edition after Um Kalthoum
The 9th edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF, 2-7 May 2025) has been named after Um Kalthoum, whose face decks the festival's official poster.
This celebration of Um Kalthoum coincides with the 50th anniversary of her passing.
The poster's designer, Hisham Ali, said he aimed to create a design that reflected Um Kalthoum's cinematic and artistic spirit, underscoring her exceptional position in Arabic music and cultural history.
Hisham Ali, who often creates artwork for the AIWFF and other film festivals' posters and who has won several awards, commented on this year's design: "The most prominent element of the design is the black, wavy film reel, which is used to form the features of Um Kalthoum's face. This reflects the visual connection between cinema and music. The twisting of the reel around the image suggests movement and continuity, as if Um Kalthoum's legacy is still alive through generations, much like cinema brings creativity from the past to the present."
The 9th edition of the Aswan International Women's Film Festival will be held from 2 to 7 May in the southern city of Aswan.
The festival has yet to release its vibrant lineup of films and jury panels.
Year of Um Kalthoum
At the beginning of this year, Egypt's culture ministry designated 2025 as the Year of Um Kalthoum. It announced its comprehensive programme of events and activities to highlight Um Kalthoum's musical legacy and profound impact on the Arab world.
Many artists, ensembles, and art institutions equally embrace the celebrations. The ministry's General Authority for Cultural Palaces, the Cultural Development Fund, and the Cairo International Book Fair are among the bodies that either dedicated a prominent segment to Um Kalthoum or set year-long activities celebrating the Star of the East.
Even before that, the celebrations crossed Egypt's borders. In early February 2025, the Paris Philharmonic Hall (Philharmonie de Paris) in France hosted the Egyptian Arab Music Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Alaa Abdel-Salam, which held a concert featuring singers Rehab Omar and Eman Abdel-Ghany.
From : Al-Ahram