Farouk Falouks returns to the spotlight with a Cairo Film Festival lifetime award

One of Egypt's most familiar faces is about to step back onto a big stage. The Cairo International Film Festival has announced that actor Farouk Falouks will receive its Golden Pyramid for Lifetime Achievement at the opening ceremony of its 47th edition on Wednesday.

What happened?

The festival made the announcement on Sunday. In its statement, it praised Falouks for a career spanning more than six decades across cinema, theatre and television. It said he created characters that left a mark on the memory of Egyptian and Arab audiences.

His son, actor Ahmed Falouks, said he was delighted that his father is being honoured.

Why is it such a moment?

Falouks has been out of the spotlight for years. His last two appearances, in 2017, were in the TV series "The Godfather" and "Entering the Forbidden".

In a 2022 TV interview on the programme "Nos El Kalam", he explained the gap. Producers, he said, no longer offered him meaningful roles because of his age. He added that he would not take a part just to be seen, or because he needed the money. His main income, he said, is his pension as an engineer, not acting.

He is not the only one being celebrated. Four others will also get the Golden Pyramid for Lifetime Achievement:

• Egyptian cinematographer Said Shimy
• Egyptian screenwriter Medhat El Adl
• Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako
• Italian director Matteo Garrone

Egyptian actor Asser Yassin will receive the Faten Hamama Excellence Award. Lebanese film distributor Antoine Zind gets a special tribute as one of the pioneers of film distribution in Egypt and the Arab world.

What's next?

The 47th edition runs from 11 to 20 November. It also marks 50 years since the festival's first edition in 1976, when it began its journey as one of the Arab world's oldest and best-known film festivals.

On opening night, all eyes will be on Falouks as he returns to the stage to collect his award.