Laila Alawi recalls her memories of the films that shaped her awareness of the human relationship with food

As part of the activities of the El Gouna Film Festival, the Cine Gouna Theater hosted a session entitled “Cinema and the Taste of Life: Food, Art, and Social Responsibility,” which brought together the world of art, the world of cooking, and humanitarian work in one space.

 

 The session was held amid a remarkable attendance, To open a discussion about how art can reflect the human relationship with food, not only as a sensual pleasure, but as a cultural, social and human value.

 

 

The session was moderated by Hoda Al-Sharif, and the artist Laila Alawi, Amina Al-Qurai’i, Director of the Media, Publicity and Marketing Department of the program participated in it. World Food, Mohamed Ashour, Chief Commercial Officer and Business Development Director of El Gouna, and Mohsen Sarhan, CEO of the Egyptian Food Bank. And institutions in supporting issues of food security and community awareness through art and cinema.

 

 

Ashour began the session by emphasizing that “customs and traditions in our societies always revolve around the dining table, as it is where relationships are built and formed.” Links”, adding that this year El Gouna celebrates the 35th anniversary of its founding, as an integrated city that combines tourism, culture, sports and culinary arts.

 

 

As for Laila Alawi, she recalled her memories of food in the cinema, considering that The dining table “is the space that brings together old and young, family and friends,” noting that cinema can be an influential means of highlighting issues of food security and community awareness. She pointed to a number of films that shaped her awareness of the human relationship with food, such as the film “He Came Out and Didn’t Come Back.” Which dealt with the simplicity of the countryside and natural foods, and the movie “Hunger” Which introduced it to the meaning of poverty and hunger, along with the movie “Girls’ Love.” Which brought her together with her sisters and reminded her of the bonds of family and love.

 

 

For her part, Amina Al-Qurayi explained that the work of the World Food Program in Egypt is not limited to providing meals to the needy, but extends to enabling individuals to access healthy and sustainable food, stressing that The goal is to reach a day when “no one needs food assistance.”

 

 

Mohsen Sarhan, CEO of the Egyptian Food Bank, concluded the dialogue by emphasizing the role of the media in the bank’s advertising campaigns to spread awareness without arousing feelings of guilt, Saying: “We are the voice of the voiceless.”