German filmmaker Christian Petzold has been chosen to be Jury President of the 38th Cairo International Film Festival this year, the organizers announced.

"Born in 1960, Petzold studied film at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin, while working as an assistant director at the same time. He then directed three feature fiction films for the TV between 1995 and 1998, before directing his first fiction film for the cinema, The State I Am In, which won the Best Film Award from the German Critics Association in 2001," read a statement by the film festival.

"In the following years, he directed six feature fiction films, among them Barbara, which won 10 awards including the Best Director Award at Berlin Film Festival in 2012 [Silver Bear Award for his movie 'Barbara']), and the Best Film Award from the German Critics Association. The film narrates the story of a doctor in East Germany in the 1980s banished to a small country hospital because of her political opinions.

"His film Phoenix won the FIPRESCI Prize at San Sebastián International Film Festival in 2014 and the Best Actress Award at Mons International Festival in 2015."

In its 38th edition, the Cairo International Film Festival will expand its venues and incorporate several screening halls in Downtown Cairo, alongside the Cairo Opera House that hosted the festival over past three editions.

Youssef Cherif Rizkallah is this edition's artistic director, and Mahmoud Hemeda honorary president.

Egyptian director Kamla Abouzekri’s Yom Lel Sitat (A Day for Women) will open the festival on 15 November.

The festival also announced that Shakespeare will be its "special guest," with screenings of local and international films either inspired by the playwright's dramaturgy or that are cinematic adaptations of his plays.

This year's Cairo International Film Festival will introduce an app for phones and tablets for the first time.

According to Al-Ahram Arabic, the application will launch prior to the festival's opening and will reach out to audiences and involve them more.

It will include the festival's schedule, information about films, screening times, and the booking system.

For the first time in its history the CIFF' will introduce and utilise an application for phones and tablets for wider audience accessibility, and to lessen the use of paper.

The 37th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival ran between 11 and 20 November 2015 and featured a total of 120 films.

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