Click here to view a photo slideshow from the Cairo Film Festival and “Spiritual Warriors” screenings.
Click here to view a video by Jsu Garcia from Cairo.
It took me some time to think about the Cairo Film Festival experience. Now that I have given myself some time, I have come to the conclusion that the Cairo Film Festival was a success.
We arrived in Cairo with Rick Ojeda, Sally Kirkland, Fadel Gad and myself. We immediately were met with obstacles within the film festival. No one in the festival would take responsibility for things not working out. Rick, Fadel and myself went on the offensive in getting flyers out to people in the festival and doing many interviews. Because Sally Kirkland is a star we let her get all the attention towards us and she got plenty of attention. Fadel Gad was amazing, with his natural Arabic language and his ability to go for the prize. We landed a live TV show that broadcast us across the Middle East.
We screened Spiritual Warriors three times and many people saw the movie. We had pretty lengthy Q&A’s. We all found out that for some reason the journalists were mostly young sexy women. So, whenever I could, in elevators, restaurants and of course the lobby of the Hyatt hotel, anywhere, I would ask pretty girls if they were journalists and sure enough they were journalists. “Aha.” I made copies of CD’s with photos and clips of the film on DVD’s too and I would pitch the film to these sexy journalists and sure enough we ended up in newspapers.
Meanwhile, I would call J-R every night for help ’cause everyday there was a new update or a new obstacle to jump over. We learned to jump and duck. We were like boxers. There was no time to rest. We got up early and slept late. The Hyatt lobby was the Mecca of networking.
We sponsored a Spiritual Warriors party where many from the festival came. Fadel asked a famous Egyptian band to play at the party. The word started to get around about the American film makers. We loved the attention, I know I did.
Fadel and Dr. Zahi Hawass invited us to attend a party at the American Embassy in Cairo. We went and met many friends, stars, and of course that night I met my hero Omar Sharif. I invited him to have dinner with us and so off we went to dinner with Omar, Hawass, Kirkland, Ojeda, Fadel and myself.
It was a magical night. From the beginning I’ve been wanting to meet him and get him to see the movie. I remember looking at Omar and talking about God with Sally K. It sometimes got real intense. We all ministered to ourselves and others that night. I can feel J-R all over that dinner. By the end of the night we were all in love with the Great Omar.
It seemed after the dinner that the energy was going away. I could hear inside, “come home.” We wanted to go to Dubai but I could feel the pull to come home. On the last day we took a three hour tour and headed back to the Hyatt for our final screening.
Finally, I will say the word, “Nostalgia.” This word means “A sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past.” My love for Egypt and J-R and the PAT IV’s makes me seek these moments that are BURNED into my Soul of a Camelot that I seek to see again. Nostalgia was everywhere and sometimes I was chasing it but the obstacles kept me in the present time. It’s like in the movie “Somewhere in Time,” seeing the penny brought Christopher Reeve back to the present time.
I thank God/J-R that I was there and that I’m here now.
