Four award-winning films for AZAD festival

Following the success of last year's edition, AZAD will be holding the second edition of its film festival later this month.

The theme of the Cinefest, being held at St James Cavalier, in Valletta is the Mediterranean City, since the region is the star of each of the films.

Four acclaimed and award-winning films will be shown on September 20, 21, 27 and 28.

The French film Marius et Jeannette is set in L'Estaque, an impoverished northern district of Marseilles. Directed by Robert Guediguian, the film received a total of seven French Cesar nominations and won Ariane Ascaride the Best Actress Cesar 1998.

Alexandria - Why? is the first of a famous trilogy of autobiographical films by the brilliant Egyptian director Youssef Chahine. The film is set in the director's home city and is both a deeply personal and overtly political portrait of Alexandria. Set during the Second World War, the film focuses on a young filmmaker, named Yehia, who dreams of studying in America.

Tunisian director Ferid Boughedir's film Halfaouine is named after the quarter of the old city of Tunis where it is located. A coming-of-age story of a young boy named Noura, the film deals with issues of family and gender. Halfaouine gives an insightful perspective into adolescence in a Muslim culture.

A tragicomic drama by veteran Italian director Ettore Scola, Concorrenza Sleale (Unfair competition), tells the story of two rival textile shop owners in Rome in the late 1930s. When one of them faces the sanctions imposed on Jewish citizens in Fascist Italy, rivalry is gradually transformed into solidarity and friendship.