Hala Lotfy's Coming Forth by Day on the 100 Most Important Arab Films List

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Hala Lotfy's Coming Forth by Day on the 100 Most Important Arab Films List

Dubai International Film Festival has revealed that Hala Lotfy's Coming Forth by Day film was included among the 100 Most Important Arab Films list as defined in Cinema of Passion: Dubai International Film Festival List for the 100 Most Important Arab Films book. Although the film is a recent production, it was included on the list at the 94th place, making it the most recent film amongst many others that were mostly produced during the last century. The film participated in several international film festivals in autumn 2012.

Co-edited by over 475 of the region's and international most prominent film critics, writers, novelists, academics, and other arts professionals, the book includes a scholarly and critical treatment of each film on the list by 20 prominent Arab film critics in English and Arabic. In addition, the top 100 list is accompanied by a critical and historical approach to Arab cinema and an analytical study according to Arab epistemological, sociological, and political order, including historical data, information on the productions, and background on the key creatives that made the films possible.

Written and directed by Hala Lotfy, Coming Forth by Day tells the story of a poor family living in one of the most shabby neighborhoods on the outskirts of Cairo. The pillar of the family, a single 30-year-old woman (Donia Maher), finds it difficult to express her feelings and dreams, while she spends her time only taking care of her wheelchair-bound father (Ahmed Lotfy) and mother (Salma Al-Naggar) who works as a nurse.

Produced by Hassala Films, Coming Forth by Day won several prizes in different international film festivals in 2012 such as FIPRESCI award for the Best Narrative Feature and the Best Director from the Arab World in Abu Dhabi Film Festival within the New Horizons Competition, the Bronze Tanit at the Official Competition in Carthage Film Festival, the Golden Lion in Oran Arab Film Festival within the official competition, and the Best African Film award within the African Film Competition at African Film Festival in Milan.

In October, 2013, the film received two awards at the Alexandria Mediterranean Countries Film Festival within the Egyptian Film Panorama Competition namely; Best Film Award and Best Director Award for Hala Lotfy. In addition, actress Do'aa Ereikat has received a Certificate of Appreciation for her role in one scene.

The film screened in several international film festivals including Berlin International Film Festival within the framework of Berlinale Forum 2013, the Official Competition at Luxor African Film Festival 2013, Ayam Beirut Al Cinema'iya 2013, the Official Competition within Tetouan Film Festival in Morocco, and Bird's Eye View International Film Festival aims to shed the light on women's contributions to the cinema. In this year's installment of the festival, the focus was to celebrate Arab women filmmakers.

Director Hala Lofty started her film career by studying Filmmaking at the Cairo Film Institute and graduated with an honors degree in 1999. Before perusing her filmmaking studies in filmmaking, she received a bachelor degree in Economics and Political Science from Cairo University. Hala worked as an Assistant Director for two years before making three documentaries independently between 2001 and 2004. She then worked with Al-Jazeera Documentary Channel where she presented seven episodes in the documentary TV series named Arabs of Latin America.