In its 29th year, the board of Alexandria\'s Mediterranean Countries Film Festival, headed by critic Amir Abaza, has chosen director Hala Lotfy\'s Al Khoroug Lel Nahar (\'Coming Forth by Day\') to represent Egypt in the official competition of the festival this year, set to take place from 9 to 13 October in Alexandria. The film tells the story of Soad, a single woman in her mid-thirties who lives with a mother who works as a nurse and a father who has lost most of his brain function after suffering a stroke. She cannot work because she has to stay home and care for her ailing father. The film showcases the intricacies of the relationships between family members through slow, redundant, mundane daily life, such as feeding and cleaning the father, until a surprise visit from a stranger changes things. Film critic Osama Abdel Fattah, director of the festival, says the film is significant because it represents a very realistic image of Egyptian society, tackling relevant issues such as late marriage and the endless troubles an Egyptian family has endure when its principal breadwinner can no longer earn an income to sustain it. Source: Ahram online