A powerful account of life in contemporary Cairo, this raw drama about a pair of star-crossed lovers shines a powerful spotlight upon the social and cultural taboos that riddle the city's diverse population.
Heralding a bold new shift for contemporary Egyptian cinema, CAIRO EXIT is a gritty and stubborn work from a major new cinematic talent, Hesham Issawi.
Amal is an 18-year-old Coptic girl, living in Bashtel, in the slums of Cairo. Her Muslim boyfriend Tarek is planning to leave Egypt on an illegal boat crossing to Italy.
Amal tells Tarek she is pregnant but he gives her an ultimatum: abandon the country with him or have an abortion. Despite her love for Tarek, Amal rejects both choices.
But when Amal is fired from her job, her already precarious future looks bleak. In desperation, she takes a low-paid job as a hairdresser, a job that leads her into a seedy underworld of crime and vice. Is it too late for Amal to escape the sordid, dead-end world of exploitation and misery in Cairo's darkest corners?
CAIRO EXIT was the first film that director Hesham Issawi shot in Egypt after having lived for 20 years in the US and screened at several international film festivals including Dubai, Tribeca, Munich and Malmo Arab Film Festival.
AFLAM was honored to have CAIRO EXIT producer Sherif Mandour for the open Q&A session after the screening.
Language: Arabic with English subtitles.
Length: 100 minutes
Rating: R (Restricted)
A portray of a typical Egyptian citizen fighting to eat a bite of bread and, despite many problems, continues on living and accepting fate.
Language: Silent.
Length: 7 minutes
678 addresses the taboo subject of the rampant sexual harassment that women face on the streets of Cairo every day.
In this bold and frank film, the directorial debut of respected Egyptian scriptwriter Mohamed Diab, we witness a number of perspectives on the matter, through the eyes of three women drawn from across Cairo's complex social hierarchy.
Fayza is a traditionally-minded mother, in search of justice. Seba is a wealthy jewellery designer, recovering from a vicious gang assault. Nelly, an aspiring stand-up comedian, draws national outrage for daring to file a sexual harassment lawsuit.
The film follows this trio as, frustrated by the apathetic response from authorities, they decide to take the law into their own hands and begin exacting violent revenge on men foolish enough to try and harass them.
Diab's film brought the subject into the limelight in Egypt for the first time and this created quite a controversy.
The film has been widely praised for its acting and it won several international awards including Best Actor and Best Actress in the Muhr Arab category at the 2010 Dubai International Film Festival; the Silver Hugo for Best Actor, Best Feature Film Director and Best International Feature at the Chicago International Film Festival; the Grand Prize for Dramatic Feature at Heartland Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival.
AFLAM was honored to have Screenwriter and Director Mohamed Diab for the open Q&A session.
Language: Arabic with English subtitles.
Length: 100 minutes
Rating: R (Restricted)
TWO, SIX revolves around a pivotal tool that symbolizes the numbers two and six.
Language: Arabic with English subtitles.
Length: 6 minutes
Abu Raed (Nadim Sawalha) is an old airport janitor who's always dreamt of seeing the world, but only experienced it vicariously through books and brief encounters with air travellers.
In his poor neighborhood, Abu Raed befriends a group of children who show up at his door one morning wanting to hear about his adventures around the world. They all think he is an airline pilot.
While he takes the children to colourful places around the world through his fictional stories, he begins to discover the grim realities in their lives and tries to make a difference.
Captain Abu Raed is a universal story of friendship, inspiration and heroism.
It was the first feature film produced in Jordan in more than 50 years. The Royal Film Commission of Jordan endorsed Captain Abu Raed to be submitted to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, the first ever submitted by Jordan. The film won awards at numerous film festivals including the Sundance Film Festival, Heartland Film Festival and the Dubai International Film Festival. It was screened at the Jerusalem International Film Festival in 2008.
Language: Arabic with English subtitles.
Length: 102 minutes
PG
“Undamageable” explores the strength of ideas during Egypt’s ‘Arab Spring’.
Language: Arabic with English subtitles.
Length: 6 minutes
Brahim sells cars in his “Brahim Auto Park” located in Lebanon. Apart from his secretary and his clients, he is in contact with nobody. He lives a lonely life.
Brahim has a chance encounter with Leila. Because of her, he committed a murder 20 years ago in Jordan. He was forced to play dead and flee incognito to Lebanon, leaving behind his wife and son who think he "died a hero".
His encounter with Leila makes him go back to Jordan and face his past and his people.
A MAN OF HONOR recounts the journey of a man struggling against his ossified tribal community. Where group cohesion comes first, how is it possible to defend individual rights, especially when that individual is a woman?
Forced to deal with reality and myths, with shame, revenge and honor crimes, how far will Brahim go in order to regain his dignity?
Language: Arabic with English subtitles.
Length: 87 minutes
An Arab and a Westerner work out their differences in an elevator, with help from various other passengers, after they get into a fight on the 59th floor of an office block.
Language: English and Arabic with Arabic and English subtitles.
Length: 13 minutes
Set in an Emirati neighborhood (fireej) where traditions and the local culture make it harder to express love and emotions openly, Sea Shadow follows the story of 16 year-olds Mansour and Kaltham.
The teens commence a journey of self discovery that takes them from Ras al Khaima all the way to Abu Dhabi after life in their little fireej is shaken up by misunderstandings, mix-ups, and wrong decisions.
Language: Arabic with English subtitles.
Length: 98 minutes
This short film tells the story of a man who meets by coincidence a little girl in a metro station and throughout the film we discover the girl holds a huge secret ...
Language: Silent / Arabic text with English.
Length: 11 minutes
Three well-meaning people struggle against the system in hopes of making a living in this Moroccan comedy-drama.
Mustapha is a middle-aged barber whose regular customers include a number of former politicians who once held the reigns of power. When he's not curing hair, Mustapha has an illegal but lucrative side business in which he provides government documents and political favors for a price, with his well-connected clients serving as middlemen.
While Mustapha's illegal business is successful, he's ashamed to let others know he cannot read or write, so he hired Said to handle his paperwork and look after the accounts.
Meanwhile, Zakia is a schoolteacher whose fiancée has left Morocco for Spain. Zakia has been unable to obtain a visa to join him, so she tries to pass herself off as a traveling farm hand in order to get papers as a strawberry picker at a fruit plantation in Spain; this, however, means she has to make her hands look rough and worm enough to convince the authorities her story is true.
Eventually Zakia must turn to Mustapha for a solution to her problem, while he discovers his trusted business partner has some secrets of his own.
Language: Arabic with English subtitles.
Length: 97 minutes
The story of young mermaid Arato who lives in the Arabian sea and one day disobeys the rules of the sea king by going up to the surface of the water watching the Emirati fishermen cruising.
Language: Arabic with English subtitles.
Length: 8 minutes
Asmaa is an HIV positive female in her 40s. After the death of her husband, she moves to Cairo with her father and her teenage daughter. Asmaa suffers from the feelings of social seclusion and fear of her illness being exposed, even to those closest to her.
For months Asmaa has been suffering from a benign infection and due to her illness no doctor has agreed to carry out the surgery that could easily treat her. She must find a solution before her condition becomes fatal.
Her chance comes when she is offered to appear on a famous TV talk show, a last chance for her to secure her right for treatment. With only hours to decide, Asmaa must choose between revealing her secret, or continue to suffer in silence...
Based on a true story, the inspiring portrait of an Egyptian woman who decides to stand up for her rights.
Language: Arabic with English subtitles.
Length: 96 minutes
A man tries to restore his self-worth after realizing his uselessness, while his ex-wife shows her determination to move forward after realizing her purpose.
Language: Arabic with English subtitles.
Length: 16 minutes
In Paris' cosmopolitan and colorful 10th arrondissement, Philippe, who's fresh out of prison, crosses paths with Avdal, a Kurd who is trying to track down an Iraqi war criminal. Avdal, who dreams of staying in France, plans to bring his fiancee Siba to Paris. She's due to arrive in the next few days. The two men strike up a friendship and when Avdal dies suddenly and unexpectedly, Philippe finds himself left to organize the funeral arrangements. What should he do with the body?
Siba arrives in Paris and soon learns that Avdal has died. She is taken in by a group of Kurdish men and before long she also meets Philippe - all of whom are quite smitten by her beauty.
Meanwhile, Avdal's father Cheto, a devout Muslim, comes to Paris to grieve for his son. He intends to force Siba to return to her homeland, but the young woman has now had a taste of freedom.
Language: French and Kurdish, with English subtitles
Length: 95 minutes
An old woman begins to worry when a menacing and mysterious man starts to follow her and corners her in the dark streets of Cairo. What he wants from her can only verge on the unthinkable...
Language: Arabic with English translation.
Length: 11 minutes
Dalia has returned home to Amman from the United States to partake in the festivities leading up to her sister’s wedding.
As the celebrations get underway she is in for a huge surprise, when her American boyfriend of three years Jason shows up unannounced with a marriage proposal. Elated on the one hand, she is also equally anxious, as her family is unaware of Jason’s presence in her life.
Dalia is then forced to evaluate her life and make decisions that will change it one way or the other. Struggling between her love for Jason and her love for her family, whom will she choose?
Language: Arabic and English, with English subtitles
Length: 80 minutes
The story contrasts the lives of two people who live in the same area, an older person and a younger person, and how their lives cross each other in a car accident.
Language: Silent
Length: 5 minutes
A few weeks before his college entrance exams, Reda, a young man who lives in the south of France, finds himself forced to drive his father to Mecca.
From the start, the journey looks to be difficult. Reda and his father have nothing in common. Talk is reduced to the strict minimum. Reda wants to experience this trip in his own way. His father demands respect for himself and the meaning of this pilgrimage.
As they drive through different countries and meet various people, Reda and his father observe each other warily. How can they create a relationship when communication is impossible? From the south of France, through Italy, Serbia, Turkey, Syria, Jordan to Saudi Arabia, their road is 3,000 miles long.
Language: Moroccan Arabic and French, with English subtitles.
Length: 108 minutes
A story of Chinese whispers. The film shows how quickly information can be distorted through various social media platforms, phone calls and word of mouth.
Language: Arabic, with English subtitles
Length: 6 minutes
Northern Iraq, 2003. Two weeks after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Ahmed, a 12-year-old boy begrudgingly follows in the shadow of his grandmother.
On hearing news that prisoners of war have been found alive in the South, she is determined to discover the fate of her missing son, Ahmed’s father, who never returned from the Gulf war.
From the mountains of Kurdistan to the sands of Babylon, they hitch rides from strangers and cross paths with fellow pilgrims, on all too similar journeys. Struggling to understand his grandmother’s search, Ahmed follows in the forgotten footsteps of a father he never knew.
This journey will lead the boy to come of age.
Language: Arabic, with English subtitles
Length: 90 minutes
A story about how a simple smile can open doors. The story revolves around an electronic system allowing smiling people security clearance and the attempts of a grumpy man struggling to understand the concept.
Language: Arabic, with English subtitles
Length: 6 minutes
Hamama is nearly 90-years-old, a spiritual healer renowned as a living legend across the United Arab Emirates. Blessed with an incredible gift of healing, she nevertheless has to face her increasing frailty which threatens to impact her work and her livelihood. Her skills are incredibly valuable to hundreds who continue to visit her each day where she lives in Al Dhaid- Sharjah, seeking her essential cures. Yet, Hamama struggles with the responsibility of providing the care that is so greatly needed, while confronting her own personal hardships.
Language: Arabic, with English subtitles
Length: 63 minutes
A story about pollution and its effect on future and prosperity using migrating birds as a central element in the narrative.
Language: No dialogue
Length: 5 minutes
In a half-destroyed Iraqi football stadium, about 300 refugee families are living in a hastily-assembled shanty town. The elder son of one of the families is Asu, an idealistic young man who arranges a football match between the Kurdish and Iraqi boys of the camp, in the hope of cheering up his younger brother (and impressing his beautiful neighbour, Hilin). But when the big day rolls around, the lives of all involved are thrown into chaos when unforeseen tragedy strikes. Celebrated filmmaker Shawkat Amin Korki's 'Kick Off' won the New Currents prize on its debut at Pusan Film Festival; this is its second screening.
Language: Arabic, with English subtitles
Length: 81 minutes
Between a bird and a girl, a little story grows under the sky as we come closer to a crammed mother in a car after an accident in the mountains.
Language: Arabic, with English subtitles
Length: 17 minutes
When Khaled returns to Alexandria after years of travel he discovers that things aren't going too well. His girlfriend greets him with the news that she is packing up and emigrating. His relationship with his ailing, aging father has deteriorated beyond repair. Confused, depressed and alone, Khaled walks the city streets at night, brooding over his life. But one night, he chances upon the city's hidden subculture - rappers, rockers, graffiti artists, a whole world of creativity, expression and art.
Khaled is fascinated and begins a new life, full of excitement and discovery. As he moves deeper into this new world, he becomes a vociferous champion of the local art scene. With his limited resources and connections, he tries to support and raise attention to the diverse facets of his city.
Language: Arabic, with English subtitles
Length: 120 minutes
Unraveling the graphic details about life which everyone can relate to, veteran producer, Haytham Saqr knew he had struck gold when he came across the script for his latest production, Beep.
Based on a story by writer, Ziad Abdallah, Saqr says, he got excited as soon as he read it for the first time. “It felt so true and graphic and the fact that these things happen to us everyday without much notice, made the script very attractive to me as a filmmaker, so I decided to put it into action right away.”
Language: (No dialogue)
Length: 5 minutes
Habibi, a story of forbidden love, is a fiction feature set in Gaza. Two students in the West Bank are forced to return home to Gaza, where their love defies tradition. To reach his lover, Qays grafittis poetry across town. Habibi is a modern re-telling of the famous ancient Sufi parable Majnun Layla. The full Arabic title is Habibi Rasak Kharban, which translates as "darling, something's wrong with your head."
Susan Youssef, the writer and director, has been named one of "25 New Faces" to watch for by Filmmaker magazine. Habibi is her first feature film. Her five shorts have screened at venues such as Sundance Film Festival and Museum of Modern Art (NY), and have been acquired for distribution by Video Data Bank, Third World Newsreel, and Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre.
Habibi won the Grand Prize in the Emerging Narrative program at IFP's Independent Film Week and is supported by Co-Producer Dubai Entertainment and Media Organization, Zain, Cinereach, Austin Film Society, Princess Grace Foundation - USA, Fonds BKVB, Rooftop Films, Institute of International Education, Jerome Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Funding Exchange, A.M. Qattan Foundation, Idioms Film, Panasonic, fiscal sponsor Women Make Movies, Richard Linklater, and many other generous donors.
Language: Arabic, with English subtitles
Length: 78 minutes
Soul: A film that gets to the heart of the matter
Dealing with intense issues, Soul is a short film that takes the viewer on a spiritual journey...
Life, death, prayer and the eternal state of an individual....
Based on a spiritual experience during a funeral ceremony, Emarati Director Fatima Abdallah Ali's film SOUL is in fact, an insight into some of her deepest thoughts. Taking the viewer on a journey through one of life's most trying times, Ali describes her inspiration behind the film as "the result of an experience I went through during a funeral prayer."
Soul Full of symbolism, Ali who hails from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, adds that the film isn't just about today, its also relevant to the past and the future generations. Leaving the comfort of the banking and financing world, the up and coming director, submitted her project to creative lab for support and funding. Soon after she was contacted by the management to spearhead the project and begin production.
Language: Arabic, with English subtitles
Length: 9 minutes
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE POLITICIAN
When Egyptians woke up on January 25th, 2011, they never expected the one day demonstration planned for that public holiday to evolve into a full out revolution aimed at overthrowing the regime's 30 year long grip on power. Three talented young directors decided to tell their story of the revolution from their unique cinematic point of view, choosing to focus not only on the politics, but on a handful of individuals whose actions would determine their fate and forever change the future of their country.This is the story of their revolution told from their eyes with three different perspectives.
Language: Arabic, with English subtitles
Length: 90 mins.
Recognitions:
Press Reviews:
Tahrir 2011: The Good, the Bad and the Politician (Egypt, UAE) received post-production support through the Abu Dhabi Film Festival's SANAD Fund for Arab filmmakers, and celebrated its Middle East premiere at the 5th edition of the Festival in the Documentary Competition, where its producer Mohamed Hefzy was awarded the prize for Best Producer from the Arab World.
Now entering its third year, SANAD ("support" in Arabic) supports films at two key stages of the production process: development and post-production. SANAD is committed to enabling both established filmmakers and newcomers from the Arab world to develop or complete their feature-length narrative or documentary projects.
Feature film:
When I Saw You by Annemarie Jacir
Short film:
Two by Mokhtar Talaat
Q&A Special Guest: Director Annemarie Jacir.
D-SEVEN FZ LLC, P.O. Box 77892, Media Zone, Twofour54 - Abu Dhabi
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