An intimate exchange between director Marianne Khory and her daughter Sara, also a filmmaker. As the two frame each other through conversation and film – Sara in the portrait mode of the iPhone generation, Marianne in a more traditional landscape format – they explore the lives and aspirations of four generations, focusing on the women […]
Continue readingMoondog
Khairy Beshara on Khairy Beshara, an autobiography introducing the director, the artist, and the man, which also explores the challenges and problems of the next generation, as represented by his son Robert. Tracing Beshara’s family migration to the United States through a surreal narrative, with Robert discovering his father has turned into a black dog. […]
Continue readingTraffic Light
One of the prime achievements of this remarkable film is that it was shot entirely on the busy streets of downtown Cairo. It shows a glimpse of mid-90s Egyptian society, reeling from the changes wrought by globalization. A group stuck at a red traffic light, on hold to allow a VIP to pass through, represents […]
Continue readingStrawberry War
“Strawberry War” is acclaimed for its unusual story, fantastical setting, and dark sense of humor. Thabet (Sami El Adl) is a wealthy businessman who owns factories and lives alone in a vast mansion. Losing his only son, he also loses happiness from his life, unable to understand or grasp its meaning anymore. He encounters the […]
Continue readingAmrika Shika Bika
A look at the immigration problems that resulted from policies implemented after the October War fought in 1973 between a coalition of Arab states and Israel. A group plans their emigration to the United States, with the help of a Professor, Gabir Fawaz (Sami El Adl). They must travel from the Romanian capital Bucharest, a […]
Continue readingIce Cream in Gleam
Though 25 years have passed, this is still the first film that comes to mind when mentioning the Egyptian acting and singing superstar Amr Diab. He plays Saif, a young man who works in a video rental store. With his friends, he aspires for a better life, leading to the ill-judged decision to try to […]
Continue readingCrab
Hassan Hudhud (Ahmed Zaki) is a poor boxer dreaming of a better life. By chance, he participates in a match at the mansion of a wealthy man (Hussein El Imam) and his wife (Raghda). Impressing the audience, he receives a large reward and moves into the mansion. He soon discovers that the glitz and glamour […]
Continue readingSweet day, Bitter day
One of the essential films of the Egyptian neo-realist wave, of which Beshara was a leading proponent, with his uncompromising commitment to the truth. Aisha (Faten Hamama) is a widower with five children, Sanaa (Hanan Youssef), Suad (Abla Kamel), Lamia (Simone), Asmaa (Salwa Mohamed Ahmed) and her youngest Noor. When her eldest daughter Sanaa gets […]
Continue readingThe Collar and the Bracelet
One of the most iconic films in Egyptian cinema, acclaimed for its unflinching social commentary and poetic style. Based on a novel by Yahia Al Tahir Abdulla, the film focuses on Hazina (Fardous Abdel Hamid), who lives in Karnak, Luxor, with her paralyzed husband (Ezzat El Alaili), her daughter and granddaughter (both played by Sherihan). […]
Continue readingHouseboat No. 70
The film that launched Egypt’s neo-realist wave, the movement pioneered by Khairy Beshara. Documentary maker Ahmed Al Shazly (Ahmed Zaki) is shooting a film about a cotton gin – a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds – when a worker (Ahmed Bedair) reveals the extent of the corruption in the […]
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