The Aquarium (Genenet Al Asmak)

21 – 29 May 2008
The Aquarium (Genenet Al Asmak)
Dir. Yousry Nasrallah | Egypt, France, Germany | 2008 | 111 min
With Hend Sabry, Amr Waked, Gamil Rateb | UK Premiere
Yousry Nasrallah’s The Aquarium is an ambitious examination of the sexual and political
landscape of contemporary Cairo. Laila is a late-night radio talk show host whose listeners
talk about their most closely guarded secrets; Youssef is an anesthetist who enjoys
listening to the things his patients mumble as they drift off into unconsciousness. Both travel
along the paths of longing as their destinies become marked by the visually suggestive
aquarium gardens in Cairo. Poetic, multilayered and an inspired treat.
Sunday 25 May | 7.00pm | Ciné lumière | 17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT, South
Kensington tube | www.institut-francais.org.uk, Tel: 020 7073 1350
In association with
La Graine et le mulet (Couscous)
France | 2007 | 151 min | dir. Abdellatif Kechiche, cert. 15 | Preview Screening
An expansive ensemble drama set in the southern port of Sète and centred on the North African
community and one man’s dream to open up a fish & couscous restaurant.
Winner: Césars, Best Picture & Best Director 2007. Followed by Q&A with dir. Abdellatif Kechiche
Sat 24 May | 6.00pm, Courtesy of Artificial Eye
L’Esquive
France | 2003 | 117 min | dir. Abdellatif Kechiche, cert. 12
15-year-old Kimo is bored with life on his run-down estate, until he catches sight of a classmate,
Lydia, rehearsing her lines for a school play, a production of Marivaux’s A Game of Love and Chance.
Sun 25 Ma y | 4.30pm