FICAM to pay tribute to Egypt’s animated cinema

LONDON - The Meknes International Animated Film Festival (FICAM) will next month celebrate the 85th anniversary of the first Egyptian and African animated film in a tribute to Egyptian animation.

Egypt will be the guest of honour at FICAM’s 19th edition which will be held March 20-25 by the Aicha Foundation at the French Institute of the imperial city of Meknes.

The tribute will include a projection of the 85-year-old “the Knight and the Princess”, an exhibition dedicated to the three Frenkel brothers, and a panorama of the Egyptian animated film.

The festival will dedicate a retrospective to the Frenkel brothers, pioneers of animated cinema in Egypt at the iconic Camera cinema.

Didier Frenkel, son and nephew of the Frenkel brothers, will project several treasures of animation on 35mm film: Mafish Fayda (1936), National Defense (1939) and Bilhana oua chifa (1946).

An exceptional exhibition with exclusive documents presented for the first time, including celluloids, posters, press clippings and correspondence awaits animated cinema lovers.

Last year, FICAM drew over 30,000 viewers thanks to its rich programme of animated films, workshops and other anime-related activities.