Nineteen films, including a number from Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and France, have entered the official competition at this year's Cairo International Film Festival, participants said.

A jury chaired by French actor Jean-Claude Brialy were set to judge the 19 films in competition, though a total of 210 films from 45 different countries were to be shown throughout the 10-day festival. Among those competing are "The Cost of Living" by French director Philippe Le Guay and "Only Girls" by Pierre Jolivet, another Frenchman, as well as "Olive Season" by Palestinian director Hanna Elias.

The only Egyptian film in the competition is "Girls' Loves" by Khaled Al Hagar, which has just been completed and would be ready in time to show the jury by October 12, the director said.

Al Hagar was criticized in the past by the Egyptian opposition press for having praised normalization with Israel in a 1993 film, "A Barrier that Separates Us."

But last week he condemned what he said was "Israel's oppressive practices against the Palestinian people."

His new film is about three half-sisters who do not know each other. They meet upon the death of their father, whose will requires them to live together for a year before they can inherit his property. Among other films in the competition are two from Syria, "What the Audience Wants" by Abdel Latif Abdel Hamid and "Poetic Visions" by Waha Al Raheb, as well as the Tunisian film "Wind Dance" by Tayeb Al Wahichi.

Around a dozen other feature-length films in the competition are from Western and Asian countries.AFP