Hala Lotfy recipient of the Katrin Cartlidge Foundation Award

This year's recipient of the prestigious Katrin Cartlidge Foundation Award, given to a new cinematic voice reflecting integrity of spirit in independent film is Hala Lotfy, an Egyptian writter and director.

Award was given to her by eminent actress Charlotte Rampling, curator of the Foundation Katrin Cartlidge Award on Thursday night during the gala ceremony held in National Theatre in Sarajevo. The audience also had the opportunity to see three-minute long insert from the movie THE STROKES wich was directed by Hala Lotfy.

Part of the atmosphere from the ceremony of Katrin Cartlidge Foundation Award you can see here.

An Egyptian filmmaker who studied economics and political science, graduating from Cairo University, Hala then studied filmmaking at the Cairo Film Institute, where she made 4 documentaries and 2 short fiction films, before graduating with honors in 1999. After graduation she made three documentaries independently between 2001 to 2004 and in 2005 progressed to her first feature documentary ”'ON FEELING COLD” which received the Special Jury prize at the National Film Festival in Egypt, the Golden Hawke at the Rotterdam Arabic Film Festival 2005, and won the Best Composition (screenplay) prize from Biong Yang IFF in 2006. It was also the subject of a master's study in the American University in Cairo. Hala then went on to work with Al-Jazeera’s documentary channel making seven T.V documentaries in a series called "Arabs of Latin America". After she came back to Egypt, she voluntarily collaborated with a civil rights organization against corruption, making a documentary about selling the assets of the country to the Saudis. She then began writing her feature debut "The Stroke", a totally independent film which she personally financed with the help of a small grant. The project was put on hold for a while but was resumed after the revolution in 2011 and finished shooting a week ago. Hala has indicated that she will use the bursary to complete the post production on the film. 

KATRIN CARTLIDGE FOUNDATION
Motivated by Katrin’s all too brief but inspiring presence, the Foundation’s work is to give new voices, new perspectives and visions a chance to be seen and heard. For the last eight years the Foundation has appointed a curator, selected from Katrin’s eclectic and extensive friends and colleagues, who in turn chooses a recipient for the annual bursary. The recipient is a new cinematic voice whose work, in some way, embodies Katrin’s integrity of spirit and commitment to independent film. We are grateful for the generosity and vision of our curators to date; The actors Emily Watson and Stellan Skarsgard, directors Mike Leigh, Simon McBurney and Danis Tanovic, as well as John Lyons, Annie Nocenti and photographer Juergen Teller.

The Foundation, through it’s trustees and patrons, also commits to helping the young filmmakers however they can, with practical and creative support.

KATRIN CARTLIDGE AWARD WINNERS AND CURATORS

Juanita Wilson (2009 – Stellan Skarsgard) was nominated for an Academy Award for her short film THE DOOR in 2010, and has completed her first feature AS IF I’M NOT THERE, which premiered at Toronto Film Festival. She was named among Variety’s top ten directors to watch in 2011 – the only woman on the list.

Faruk Šabanović (2008 – Danis Tanovic) has won numerous international awards and is currently in production for BIRDS LIKE US, Bosnia’s first 3D animated feature.

Cary Fukunaga (2007 – John Lyons) won a student Academy Award for his short film VICTORIA PARA CHINO and has since gone on to direct the acclaimed SIN NOMBRE for Focus Features and JANE EYRE for Ruby Films.

Eyas Salman (2006 – Simon McBurney and Juergen Teller) is developing his first feature film THE BASTARD and teaching film editing at the Nazareth Academic Institute. Gerd Schneider – with whom Eyas shared the bursary – is also developing his own first feature film, THE RESPONSIBLES, which was nominated for a screenplay award at the Berlin Film Festival.

Amy Neil (2005 – Emily Watson) has just completed a new short film THE CHILD, based on an Ali Smith short story, for BBC Film Network, and is developing a feature with the UK’s Warp Films.

Greg Hall (2004 – Mike Leigh) has made two further low budget feature films – KAPITAL and SSDD.

TRUSTEES

Peter Gevisser, Mike Leigh, Simon McBurney, Chris Simon and Cat Villiers.

PATRONS

Allison Anders, Rowan Atkinson, Jean Marc Barr, Lilo Baur, John Berger, Lex Braes, David Byrne, Ewen Bremner, Barbara Cartlidge, Michelle Cartlidge, Carolyn Choa, Theo Cook, Clint Dyer, David Gothard, Kate Hardie, Lodge Kerrigan, Beeban Kidron, Michael Lazo, Roland Legiarda-Laura, Alan Linn, John Lyons, Annie Nocenti, Andy Paterson, Simon Perry, Charlotte Rampling, Bingham Ray, Saskia Reeves, Ian Rickson, Harriet Robinson, Stellan Skarsgĺrd, Jim Stark, Becky Swift, Danis Tanovic, Juergen Teller, David Thewlis, Paul Trijbits, Lars Von Trier, Emily Watson and David Yates.