Film can educate people where literacy levels are low
CAIRO: Cinema has an important role to play in developing the African continent, scriptwriter and president of the Luxor African Film Festival Sayed Fouad told journalists in Cairo recently.
In countries where literacy levels are poor, film and documentaries may be used as a tool in educating people about issues and, in turn, empowering them.
Fouad encouraged governments to invest in cinema, whether it is local animation or documentary making.
For the past six years Egypt has been host to the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF), which celebrates African film-makers.
Cinema is a priority of the Egyptian government, with the budget having increased from 20 million EGP to 50 million EGP, Minister of Culture in Egypt, Helmy Al Namnam said in a welcome note at this year’s festival held in March.
Fouad told the 24 invited journalists from different African countries that they also had a role to play by writing about local films and drawing an audience to cinema.
Cinema was one of several topics covered by guest speakers for the journalists participating in the 50th Training Course for Young African Journalists in Cairo.
The course includes lectures and site visits, as well as a round-table discussion on education in Africa.
It is organised by the Union of African Journalists and the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, previously the Ministry of Information.
Yesterday journalists visited the New Suez Canal, a waterway project to expand the capacity of the existing canal.
Yellow press, or fake news, was also tackled by Dr Emad Omar, who has worked in journalism for over 20 years.
He used the Kenyan election as a recent example, where nine out of 10 people reported reading fake news. Omar also spoke of a video uploaded on to YouTube a few years ago, which showed an eagle picking up and flying off with a baby.
The video went viral on social media, but in the end two university students came forward and said they had made the video for a project.
Omar said people should consume news from news brands they trust, to avoid untruths that may be spread via social media.
Scriptwriter and president of Luxor African Film Festival Sayed Fouad.
Minister of Culture in Egypt Helmy Al Namnam.
Consume news from trusted brands to avoid untruths spread via social media