This year the Festival will be celebrating its 60th consecutive edition with the same enthusiasm felt the day it first saw the light on September 21st 1953. Conceived as an International Film Week for the purpose of screening and marketing films, it was not long before the IFFPA granted it B status (non-competitive), thanks to the success of its first edition. A year later it was called the International Film Festival, and in 1955 the IFFPA recognized the festival as competitive, spec...

ÉCU SPOTLIGHT: CATHERINE DENEUVE – THE QUEEN OF FRENCH CINEMA Catherine Deneuve: The queen of French cinema that winks at the Independent cinema by Alessia Massa If you have a love for film, you must have a certain appreciation for French cinema. From the Lumière brothers to today, the French cinema has contributed many masterpieces that have helped to write cinematography history. Independent cinema is able to strike the heart’s chords; it can make you smile, touch you,...

Moritz de Hadeln, president of the International Jury of The 14th Damascus International Film Festival The minister of Culture of the Syrian Arab Republic, Dr.Mahmoud Al-Sayyed, and the head of the Syrian National Film Organization and Festival Director, Mohamad Al-Ahmad, have invited Moritz de Hadeln - former director of the Locarno, Berlin and Venice Film Festivals - as President of the International Jury of the 14th Damascus International Film Festival, to be held from November 20 to 27, 2005...