Egyptian film director Ibrahim El Batout is participating in the 7th Dubai International Film Festival with more than one activity. The festival starts on December 12th and will continue until the 19th 2010. El Batout is representing his production company Ein Shams at the festival and is also screening his latest film Hawi as part of the Dubai Film Market where other companies participating will get a chance to see it. It is noteworthy that Hawi premiered at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival that was held last October and received the Best Arab Film award at the festival. Hawi will also screen at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in Holland next January.

El Batout is additionally taking part in the Film Forum with his latest cinematic project Ali, the goat & Ibrahim, which is coproduced by Hosam Elwan. The forum is a vital meeting point for filmmakers as it facilitates collaborations and the coproduction of upcoming projects. Participants are also eligible to receive cash prizes from the Dubai International Film Festival through their participation in the forum. Over recent years, the Film Forum has shed light on several important cinematic projects from around the globe, including the Egyptian film Rasa'el Al Bahr, directed by Dawood Abdel Sayed, the Iraqi film Ibn Babel, directed by Mohamed Al Darajy and the Palestinian film America, directed by Sherine De'ebis.

Ibrahim El Batout comments on his new project saying, "Aly Me'eza takes a completely different approach than any of my previous 3 productions. The only similarity between them is the use of new acting talents, and the methods of filming."

El Batout will also take part in an hour-long discussion panel entitled Freedom to Create within the Film Forum, which will commence at 10:00 a.m. on the 16th of December 2010. The panel will highlight the importance of giving filmmakers enough freedom to portray their creative ideas and will also shed light on the obstacles that face them from censorship entities. The discussion panel will be led by Alissa Simon of the American Variety magazine and participants besides El Batout include Egyptian producer and director Sherif Mandour and the Lebanese Hania Mroue who is one of the founders of the Beirut DC Association and manager of the MetropolisCinema project in Beirut.

El Batout comments on the Dubai International Film Festival saying, "It is the ideal chance for cinema personalities to meet and communicate. This festival gives its attendees a vast and highly effective opportunity within all its events."

El Batout and Hosam Elwan are scheduled to arrive in Dubai on the morning of Monday the 13th of December 2010, and will return on the 17th.

Ibrahim El Batout began his filmmaking career with documentaries, from which he proceeded to make feature films. His first production was Ithaki in 2005, which received the Best Film Award at the Liqa'a Al Soora Festival that was held at the French Centre in Cairo. He also worked with director Nadia Kamel on her documentary Salata Balady. In 2009, Ibrahim El Batout introduced his most important feature film to date; Ein Shams. This acclaimed production took part in more than 45 film festivals around the world, including those held in London and Carthage where he received recognition from the jury committee. It was also screened at the Hamburg Film Festival and the Taormina Film Fest where El Batout was awarded the Golden Tauro Award for Best Film. He also took part in the film festivals that were held in Dubai and Sydney, as well as the Three Continents Film Festival that was held in France and the Rotterdam Arab Film Festival where he received the award for Best Film. El Batout also received the award for Best Film at the San Francisco Arab Film Festival, in addition to ample recognition from the Egyptian Critics Association.