“Enough of the ugliness and blackness.” Magda Khairallah criticizes the Cairo Film Festival poster, and Hussein Fahmy responds

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The official poster for the 47th session of the Cairo International Film Festival sparked widespread controversy, after the late artist Shadia led the design in an image inspired by her character “Fouada” in the movie “Something of Fear,” amid criticism of the use of artificial intelligence techniques in its design.

For her part, art critic Magda Khairallah criticized the poster's design, expressing her dissatisfaction with its colors and visual character, considering it not befitting Shadia's artistic status or the history of the Cairo Film Festival.

She wrote on her Facebook account: “How much blackness is in this picture? The movie is devoid of any beauty. The artist Shadia deserves a more creative movie, and the Cairo Film Festival, after 47 editions, deserves a movie worthy of its global status. I hope there is an opportunity to reconsider the movie so that it is more cheerful and expresses the splendor of the art of cinema. Enough of the ugliness and blackness.”

The criticism did not stop with Magda Khairallah, as the poster sparked a state of controversy and dissatisfaction on social media, as followers expressed their objection to the design and the way the image of the late artist Shadia was presented, while talk of anger escalated within her family.

Nahid Shaker, Shadia's niece, commented on the poster via her official Facebook account, criticizing the final image and its similarity to the features of the late artist, where she wrote: "What is this view? What is this Shadia? What I understood is that this course is about restoring films, and this is a bit of fear after they are restored. There is no power nor strength except in God."

On the other hand, artist Hussein Fahmy, President of the Cairo International Film Festival, defended the use of artificial intelligence in poster design, stressing the importance of this technology at the present time.

Fahmy said, during the festival’s press conference, yesterday evening, Sunday: “The festival’s policy is not to show artificial intelligence films, but it is very important in this era, and that is why we are interested in talking about it at the festival through workshops. The poster does contain artificial intelligence, but artificial intelligence is the future.”

He explained that the festival’s position on showing films made with artificial intelligence is linked to the rules governing festivals affiliated with the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, indicating that any change in these rules will be reflected in the festival’s position.

In addition, local media reported on Monday that the Cairo Film Festival responded to the requests of those objecting to the poster, and decided to amend it after the festival administration confirmed that the image of the artist Shadia had changed her features.

The sources confirmed, according to Egyptian media, that the artist, Hussein Fahmy, confirmed that after he saw the poster in its enlarged image, he actually noticed that the features of the great artist Shadia had changed, and that he intends to make amendments to the poster, stressing that the difference in opinion does not spoil the friendship of an issue, and that criticism is an inherent right that should not bother its owner as long as it is presented within his professional framework.

Hussein Fahmy explained that choosing Shadia to headline the poster comes within the framework of celebrating the memory of Egyptian cinema and its classic films, and linking the cinematic past to the future, in conjunction with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the festival.

The 47th session of the Cairo International Film Festival is scheduled to be held from November 11 to 20, amid interest in preserving cinematic heritage and re-presenting it to new generations.