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Sherief Elkatsha's documentary FAR FROM THE NILE to premiere in US

02 November 2023
Sherief Elkatsha's highly anticipated documentary feature film FAR FROM THE NILE is set to hold its American premiere on Saturday, November 18th at 2 pm in the Downtown Community Television Center Cinema for Documentary Film at the historic Chinatown building in New York. 
 
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the director to delve into various aspects of the film, including its production, the challenges encountered during its creation, behind-the-scenes difficulties, and the film's compelling premise. 
 
FAR FROM THE NILE will be shown again on Tuesday, November 21st at 7 pm, with tickets available for purchase via this link.
 
Directed by Sherief Elkatsha who also co-produced the movie, FAR FROM THE NILE follows 12 African musicians from seven countries along the Nile River as they band together in an international coalition to highlight the water conflict along the river they share. 
 
As they leave their homes in Burundi, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda and embark on a 100-day tour of America’s heartland, the film captures the challenges of collaboration across cultural lines.
 
Despite their vast cultural differences, musical styles, and competing egos, the artists must find ways to create and remain united in their cause.
 
The three-time-award-winning movie held its world premiere at the 2022 Cairo International Film Festival’s Horizons of Arab Cinema, where it took home the Best Non-Fiction Film Award. It also won the Silver Award in the Feature-Length Category of the 12th Luxor African Film Festival and the Exceptional Merit at the Doctors Without Borders International Film Festival.
 
So far, the movie has garnered positive reviews from various news publications, with Screen Daily saying “Sherief Elkatsha has assembled a wholly entertaining and often uplifting documentary… The project is about finding common ground above all else, and watching the results flow is exhilarating.” 
 
Meanwhile, MIME described it as “a world-changing documentary… A must-watch for any and all, providing a road map for finding the way to bring together our ultra-divided, hyper-chaotic world.” 
 
Born in the US and raised in Cairo, Sherief Elkatsha now divides his time between Cairo and New York. 
 
In 2013, Elkatsha premiered his third feature documentary CAIRO DRIVE at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, where it won Best Documentary from the Arab World before going on to win the Grand Jury Prize and a Special Mention at DOC NYC and Open City Docs, respectively, in the following year.
 
Elkatsha was also the cinematographer for CAIRO GARBAGE (2009) by Mikala Krogh and co-directed EGYPT: WE ARE WATCHING YOU (2007) as part of the WHY DEMOCRACY series.
 
His first documentary, BUTTS OUT, received the Best Documentary Award at the 2006 New England Film and Video Festival.
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