Egyptian director Ibrahim El Batout’s second feature-length narrative EYE OF THE SUN (EIN SHAMS) took the prize on Saturday for the Golden Tauro for best film at Sicily’s Taormina Film Festival.

EYE OF THE SUN focuses on a taxi driver named Ramadan whose routes through the city force him to compare Egypt’s contemporary decline with its ancient days of splendor.

Perhaps more interesting than the film’s recent honors is the struggle for release in its home country, a far too common story exposing the nightmare of bureaucratic obstacles that filmmakers face when trying to secure distribution in Egypt.

Read the full Daily News article here.

Photo: Director Ibrahim El Batout (right) receiving the Golden Tauro award in Italy. (Daily News Egypt)

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