Stars gather for the opening ceremony of the eighth edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival in Egypt's southern city of Aswan. Tunisia is the guest of honour at this year's festival, which attracts filmmakers from across the region including war-torn Sudan and the Palestinian Territories. "If film festivals do not play their role when disasters happen, such as what is happening in Palestine now, then there is no need for them", says Rashid Masharawi, a Palestinian Gaza-born film director. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES