Untitled - Misr International Films

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Misr Film Focus comes to Dahshur … ............................ 4
Projects :
Kilo 56.................................................................................. 6
Mohamed Hammad- Tamer Abdel Hamid
The World is Mine (When I am with you)............................... 10
Dina Hamza
Don’t Kiss My Eyes . .............................................................. 14
Mohamed El Zayat- Ahmed Alkadry
Al Imam ................................................................................. 18
Mohamed Ramadan – Eissa Gamal El Din
Suicidal Notions ................................................................ 22
Eman El Naggar
The Unleashed ...................................................................... 26
Yasser Naeim
Script Coaches & Consultants :
- Jaques Akchoti .............................................................. 30
- Marie Pierre Duhamel Muller ........................................30
- Maia Malas Jaafar.......................................................... 31
Producers
- Marianne Khoury ........................................................... 32
- Gabriel Khoury .............................................................. 33
Junior Producer
- May Hossam El Dine ..................................................... 34
Trainee Producers
- Mohamed Haridy ........................................................... 35
- Mouwafak Chourbagui .................................................. 35
Misr Film Focus ........................................................... 36
4
5
Misr Film Focus
comes to Dahshur…
those of their characters, raising the rhetorical question:
Isn’t film all about inner voyages that are tinged by
memories and fired by the imagination?
The Dahshur setting is invigorating and mystical at the
same time. Located in the desert 35km south of Cairo,
the house overlooks the legendary Dahshur Lake and the
Rhomboidale Bent Pyramid. The scenery abounds with
palm, mango, and lemon trees, spices, flowers, and plants.
With the scent of these exotic fruits and vegetables,
and the wholesome goodness of home baked bread and
pies, Dahshur offers a cuisine that is organic and purely
Egyptian.
My first encounter with Guliana Bruno’s book, “Atlas
of Emotions: Journeys in Art, Architecture and Film”
was in 2010. I found this multidisciplinary work deeply
compelling because it reaffirmed my belief in the
symbiotic relationship between the visual, the environment
and the E-motions. The ‘psycho-geography’ of cultural
life central to Bruno’s book was defined by Guy Debord as
“the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the
geographical environment, consciously organized (or not)
on the emotions and behaviors of individuals”.
The Dahshur Workshops crystallize this concept. Firsttime filmmakers are brought together in the Dahshur
Residence, where the environment is inspiring and
conducive to creativity and a sense of wellbeing. Together,
the participants discuss their emotional itineraries and
It is no coincidence that the themes of all the stories touch
on life and death, even though the genre may vary. With
the overarching question, “What is your film about?”,
directors and writers engage in brainstorming sessions
and analytical discussions during which their scripts go
through a rigorous deconstruction and reconstruction
process. Group dynamics are very strong under the
supervision of professional script coaches, making the
chemistry and relationship between all the participants
a pivotal component of the workshop. As they interact
and engage in the development of each project, their
uncertainties and those of their characters gradually
unfold…
This is the essence of the Dahshur Workshops where Misr
International Films, as facilitator and mentor to these edgy
newcomers, makes the whole thing happen.
Marianne Khoury
6
7
During the Revolution, on the road between Alexandria and Cairo,
security disappears and chaos reigns - laying down its own laws…
SYNOPSIS
29th of January, 2011: a revolution is
taking place in Egypt. The roads are
empty, the police is evicted from the
streets and chaos replaces law and
order.
Far away from the heart of the action,
on the Alex-Desert Road, Samah, a 25
year old pregnant woman, gets into a
fight with her elderly crippled husband
at the desert roadside café where they
work. The old man has doubts about
the true identity of the baby’s father. He
suspects that he is the product of her
relationship with his son, Hassiba. Soon,
they exchange blows and Samah ends up
killing him by accident.
56 ‫الكيلو‬
KILO 56
Mohamed Hammad- Tamer Abdel Hamid
Filled with guilt and unaware of the
scope of the uprising her country
is currently engaged in, Samah
decides to turn herself in and face the
consequences of her act.
When she arrives at the prison, she
realizes that it is empty. All prisoners
have escaped amidst the security
vacuum created by the revolution.
Confused by the situation, she decides to
flee the scene, and heads towards Cairo
in order to be as far away as possible
from Hassiba, whom she knows is
tracking her to avenge the death of his
father.
In the midst of her journey towards the
capital, Samah runs into a couple of
thugs driving a stolen bus filled with
ordinary people looking to survive the
chaos, before she is finally located and
confronted by Hassiba. However, he is
unable to bring himself to kill her. After
all, how does one kill the woman he
loves?
As she approaches the borders of safety,
Samah realizes that the revolution offers
her the possibility of a second chance,
of starting over. She decides to detach
herself from her poisonous past in order
to build a new life with her child.
Sometimes, it seems, only chaos can
lead to clarity.
8
9
Mohamed Hammad
LETTER OF INTENT
The idea of this film came to life
after an incident I experienced with
a friend during the early days of the
recent Egyptian Revolution. Deciding
to travel from Alexandria to Cairo on
the morning of January 29, 2011, we
managed to hail an unidentified bus
that seemed to be a stolen vehicle.
The driver of the bus took advantage
of the extraordinary circumstances
gripping the country by charging an
exorbitant fare, giving the excuse that
he was the only one willing to brave
such a risky undertaking.
The road was virtually deserted and
fraught with menace for everyone on
board the bus, with all communication
systems down and no hope of
assistance if danger struck. Tensions
ran high during the journey itself,
resulting in altercations between the
passengers and the driver as well as
other individuals encountered on the
road until the bus broke down very
close to the Wady El Natroun Prison.
The gates of the prison had been flung
open to allow the exit of prisoners at
daybreak on January 29, 2011.
Kilo 56 attempts to explore how
the Revolution impacted the social
outcasts, misfits and thugs. Even
though one usually ignores their
existence, or avoids them, they still
Writer/Director:
remain a segment of society. They are
real people with their flaws, dreams,
issues and feelings. During that
specific day, these underdogs could
impose their own form of justice.
Crime was justified and exploitation
became the norm. Regular citizens
were brought to question their lives
and were faced with a reality they
could not figure out. An abyss, a
world of chaos, where everyone has
to somehow redefine themselves and
their immediate priorities. A moment
of both absolute freedom and absolute
fear.
Mohamed Hammad has a B.A in Mass Communication
from Helwan University. His production skills were
commended after he wrote and produced his first short
film The 5th Pound. He has also written, produced and
directed the controversial short film Central before he
produced and directed his latest short film entitled,
Pale Red which has won numerous international awards
including “Best Short Feature Film” at the Mediterranean
Film Festival in 2010 and the Francophone Film Festival in
2011. A member of the Egyptian Film Critics Association,
Hammad is dedicated to empowering and supporting
independent filmmaking in Egypt.
Tamer Abdel Hamid
Writer:
This sudden burst of self-rule, on
the desolate road from Alexandria
to Cairo, encompasses the passions
that have inhabited Egyptian society.
Investigating this is what interests me.
My characters incarnate the hopes and
fears that agitate my fellow citizens
and myself.
This begs the questions: in a corrupt
system, isn’t what occurs in such
extraordinary circumstances not
similar to what happens even in the
presence of law and order when the
lawmakers themselves are criminals?
Who are the real victors in this game
of human justice when all other rules
are abandoned?
production status:
in development
production company:
Misr International Films
(Youssef Chahine)
Tamer Abdel Hamid began working in the field of cinema
after a bachelor’s degree in English in 2001. Worked
as assistant director in several short films, including
“Central” and “Pale Red” directed by Mohammad
Hammad, “less than an hour”, directed by Mohamed
Mamdouh. He worked as production manager in the film
“Who else than God forgives you,” directed by Ahmed
EL Seoudi . Worked as assistant director on television
commercials. Works in the field of dramatic writing for
television and for children, where he was one of the
members of the workshop and writing program such as
“Semsem World”, the Egyptian version of the American
educational children’s program Sesame Street”. And
has a novel in print, “Cruising.” Worked as a coach
and coordinator for several filmmaking workshops for
beginners during the Cairo Film Festival for independent
films in 2006 and 2008, at Town House in 2009 under
the supervision of Stanger Festival which is held in
Amsterdam, a workshop for film professionals - under
the heading “films about violence against women” - which
was held in Cairo under the auspices of the El Nadim
Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of violence.
10
11
“My father passed away and left behind a radio that broadcasts his
poetry through the voice of singer Abdel Halim Hafez...Today I search for
what is behind these songs in hopes that I will discover more about my
father and the history of Egypt between the 1950’s and 1970’s.”
SYNOPSIS
Dina, a young director, is overcome
by loneliness after the death of her
father, Mohamed Hamza, a renowned
poet, who wrote songs for the biggest
Arab stars, most notably the epic
Abdel Halim Hafez.
‫في لقاك الدنيا تجيني‬
THE WORLD IS MINE (WHEN I AM WITH YOU)
Dina Hamza
In his desk, Dina finds clippings about
girls who committed suicide on the
day of Halim’s death in 1977- a story
her father never fully told. Intrigued,
she embarks on a documentary about
these girls in order to decipher their
motivations. But gradually, as she
meets witnesses to her father’s life
and his strong relationship to Abdel
Halim Hafez, Dina focuses away
from the suicide theme. She instead
begins an exploratory search into her
father’s past. As she reconstitutes
his life, we get a glimpse of Egypt’s
history from the 1950s till the late
1970s and understand that Hamza’s
lyrics and Halim’s voice served as the
mouthpiece of this era of romantic
dreams and the ideals of the 1952
Revolution. Halim’s death in 1977
signals the close of an important stage
in both her father’s life and that of
Egypt.
Dina becomes aware that immersion
in memories heightens her sense of
loneliness once again.
The January 25, 2011, Revolution
breaks out, driving Dina to Tahrir
Square. She finds Hamza’s lyrics and
Halim’s voice reverberating in the
Square- this time sung out loud by
the crowds of her generation. She
suddenly feels her father’s presence
and understands the legacy he has
left her. The voyage she has taken
through Hamza’s life and the Egyptian
recent history suddenly finds its real
meaning in the hopes of the crowd that
surrounds her: a dream for Egypt’s
future revived.
12
13
Letter of Intent
With his songs and memorabilia, my father
the poet Mohamed Hamza, belonged to
the 50’s and 60’s Golden Era. Since my
early childhood, he used to talk to me
about Abdel Halim Hafez and the special
relationship between them. It was only
after I grew up that I became familiar with
my father’s songs. Delving into his work
made me realize what a great poet he was.
But he never really talked about himself,
not even in front of his children.
The need to dedicate something to my
father in token of my love and appreciation
compels me to make this film. My terrible
loneliness after his death coupled with
the shock of seeing my own suicide in a
nightmare – an act that I wouldn’t normally
contemplate but which was uppermost
in my mind during the crisis of loss. A
sentiment that was experienced on a
national level when Abdel Halim Hafez died
and the Golden Era subsided.
But beyond this personal legacy, my
main motivation is my own liberation
from my solitary state after the January
25 Revolution. Like many, I was in Tahrir
Square, chanting out loud for social
justice, bread and freedom. But really,
the Revolution offered an escape from
loneliness and a sense of alienation for
many, including me.
I grew up with my parents’ stories of
the protest marches and strikes of the
1960s and 1970s in the wake of the 1952
Revolution. I had always yearned to belong
to that period of Egypt’s history. Images of
Nasser’s and Halim’s respective funerals,
and the grieving masses attending them,
made me wonder why the passing of
modern day artists never elicited such
a stirring response and also why we
never experienced any popular uprising
against the reigning oppression. However,
the January 25 Revolution sparked new
feelings inside me which answered a
deep need to participate with others in a
common cause. I made the realisation that
revolutionary movements can be a cure for
isolation.
Dina Hamza
writer & director
An award winning young filmmaker,Dina debuted as
a director with “Kohl” (short) in 2004. It was shown at
the Avignon Film Festival. Her documentary, “Vision”
(2006), was shown at the Copenhagen Documentary
Film Festival after which her next documentary
“Voices”(2008) was shown at the Vienna Film Festival
and went on to win the Saad Nadim Documentary
Film Award at the Egyptian National Film Festival. She
brought one of her recent documentaries “But There’s
Something Else Missing” to Dubai International Film
Festival in 2010 and won an honorary prize at the 2010
Rotterdam Film Festival. Also in 2010, Dina directed
“In/Out of the Room”, a documentary film about
Aashmawy, a public executioner. The film was screened
at the Official Competition category at the Abu Dhabi
Film Festival and also won the first prize at the “Leqaa
el Soura”
The film I intend to make is about past and
present generations with a special focus
on those who witnessed the January 25
Revolution, revisiting the past which my
father represented from the 1950s to the
1970s. It is an attempt to come to terms
with a bygone era that is still relevant
to the present against the backdrop
of Mohamed Hamza’s songs which
so eloquently express the era and the
romanticized ideals of the 1952 Revolution.
Using archives, songs and lyrics expressive
of the era, interviews of people who have
intimately known my father and Abdel
Halim, family footage and pictures, I want
to go through the experience of making a
music-based documentary feature with
a poetical dimension. I hope to convey
the feelings of a nation that dreamed of a
revolution – one who faced defeat, fought,
and won through the songs of these two
artists. A dream that was relevant then,
that is still vivid now.
production status:
in development
production company:
Misr International Films
(Youssef Chahine)
14
15
Cleared from customs; stored in a fruit fridge.
A journey of a mother’s corpse, and her estranged son.
SYNOPSIS
‫بالش تبوسني في عينيه‬
DON’T KISS MY EYES
Mohamed El Zayat- Ahmed Alkadry
Now in his thirties, Fareed has no
existing relationship with his mother.
He refuses to see her or talk to her.
Their only living link is Kaossar his
nanny. His mother however doesn’t
stop trying to win him back, until the
day she died.
Stuck with no burial permit and no
death certificate, with the help of
Mahdi, he safe keeps her corpse in a
fruit- shop fridge. He then buys an old
hearse, transforms it into a moving
morgue, and begins a two day journey
passing through four cities.
Against his mom’s final wishes, Fareed
deliberately tries to bury her in Cairo,
but he discovers that her family’s
burial ground has been turned into an
“Internet Café”.
As they move from one city to the
other, they get involved in one
ridiculous situation after another.
Fareed doesn’t anticipate the turn of
events, like he doesn’t anticipate his
reactions. He is finally letting go and
taking life in.
On his journey, Fareed meets Mahdi,
the son of his mother’s best friend,
and their friendship develops quickly.
Mahdi is an easy going character. He
loves life, everyday people, and selling
car stereos.
From Cairo to Rasheed, fruit Fridges
to the sea; Fareed, unable to identify
his feelings towards the loss of his
mother, finds himself on an emotional
rollercoaster that manages to spark
feelings he never knew existed.
16
17
LETTER OF INTENT
If you think the Italians are the only
ones crazy about their mothers, think
again.
We were both born and raised in
Egypt. Around here mothers are very
sacred; “God like” sacred. There is a
very famous Egyptian saying: “Heaven
is under Mothers’ feet”.
Even though mothers are sacred,
the dynamics of any mother child
relation are extremely complicated
and one that is quite challenging to
depict. These dynamics become more
complicated with the loss of that
relation due to the death of a mother.
The beauty of these dynamics is both
in how personal and chaotic they are.
Both of us, the writer and the director,
have lost a parent. We both have
a dark sense of humor and have
managed to deal with these losses in
a more sarcastic kind of way. We are
both a product of upper class Egypt;
one of us works in advertising and the
other is taking care of forty acres of
orange grove. We are both exposed
to the most surreal and outrageous
situations that are testing us. Both of
us have found ourselves forced to deal
with death in the extremity of Egyptian
Mohamed El Zayat
reality and its wider society, bursting
the protective bubble we lived in and
challenging us to evolve beyond our
comfort zones.
Writer/Director:
Mohamed has an MA in film from New York Film
Academy. He has a knack for directing, writing and
animating that he is constantly nurturing and exploring.
“Don‘t Kiss My Eyes”, which has been officially selected
for international script workshops including Sundance,
is his first long-length feature script. He has made
several short films, paralleling his passion for cinema
with a creative career in advertising. He is currently
working as a Creative Director in the media agency
Fortune Promo Seven.
We want to make a journey film that
unfolds over the course of three days
and shows how we all keep walking
around with burdens we manage to
hide well, and sometimes think death
would take the burden away. We keep
talking about letting go, but we really
don’t want to. Sometimes it takes
a new friend to guide us and a new
journey to enlighten us. Sometimes it
takes a parent’s death for us to come
to discover who we really are – as an
individual and as a people.
In Egyptian society, rich, random,
chaotic but pious; it is hard to see
things clearly when dealing with a
reality as striking and morbid as
death. Such chaos and contradiction
create frustration and unease,
especially while dealing with the
unresolved issue of the death of a
mother. We chose Sarcasm as a way
to deal with such mixed emotions,
a common tone Egyptians use to
express what they truly feel about
things.
Ahmed Alkadry
Writer:
Ahmad Alkadry is a writer and blogger. Born and raised
in Egypt, Ahmad started his career as a marketer. He
has a degree in political science from the American
University in Cairo
He is currently a landowner living in between Cairo and
Qalyubia, growing oranges, tangerines, and writing.
Ahmad published his first book Confessions of Suzanne
Mubarak’s Tailor in 2011. Don’t Kiss My Eyes is his debut
feature as a script writer.
production status:
in development
production company:
Misr International Films
(Youssef Chahine)
18
19
In Al Imam Cemetery an entire community survives on the commerce of
death. Some treat it with sanctity, some exploit it, and others try to run
away from it.
SYNOPSIS
Adopted by the pious Ragab Al-Banna,
one of the oldest caretakers in the Imam
Cemetery, Sayed has learned all the skills
and rites of burial. But he secretly dreams
of one day leaving the world of the dead
and immigrate to one of the beautiful cities
he sees in tourist magazines.
When Ragab feels his time is running
out, he proposes Sayed to marry his 20
year-old daughter Amal. He believes that
this way Sayed will be able to continue
working in the cemetery and safeguarding
the family and the dead. But Sayed, who
considers Amal as a sister, rejects the
offer. He intends to pursue his dreams of
travelling abroad, which insults and upsets
Ragab.
‫اإلمام‬
AL IMAM
Mohamed Ramadan – Eissa Gamal El Din
His friend Saleh, who shares his
aspirations and works selling clothes
in the market just outside the cemetery
walls, believes he can help and introduces
Sayed to his boss, Hafez.
Hafez entices Sayed by offering him a
sum of cash in return for a fresh corpse
that can be sold on the black market. He
assures Sayed that this will be a one-off.
Torn between his loyalty and his dreams,
Sayed ends up accomplishing this mission.
But Ragab soon discovers that a body has
been dug up on his grounds. He accuses
Sayed and banishes him.
Sayed enters Hafez’s dark world of
exploiting the dead as Hafez once again
presents him with the idea of digging up
corpses for money. Tempted by the devilish
proposal Sayed hesitates. He questions
his beliefs and yearns for the familiarity
of the Cemetery grounds. Stuck between
two worlds, he finally decides to redeem
himself, returns to the cemetery and
agrees to marry Amal. His dreams my
not be fulfilled, but at least he has the
satisfaction of escaping Hafez’s dark and
corrupt world.
20
21
Mohamed Ramadan
LETTER OF INTENT
I am very curious to explore what death
means to those who face it daily - doctors,
nurses and cemetery caretakers. I will
never forget the strength and the look in
the eyes of the doctors and nurses who
took care of my mother and father before
they died; nor the manner of the caretaker
when he asked me to help him as he
buried each of them. I think these people
must have an outlook or a philosophy that
we don’t understand…and I am searching
for that meaning through this film.
In the Imam Cemetery in the center of
Cairo lives a medley of contradictions. As
I entered it and began to explore it, I found
myself more concerned with the deep
philosophy of death present in the location
and the ancient, inherited traditions of
the Pharoahs that are associated with
burial rites. I became interested in the
inner battle fought by those who wish to
remain in the cemetery faithful to their
philosophy and faith; those who exploit it
as a commodity for profit and those who
eventually wish to escape to worlds outside
it.
Additionally what binds me to the Imam
Cemetery in particular is the fact that
I myself know it very well. During my
university years, I used to spend a lot of
time there, selling clothes in the Friday
Market on the grounds. I got to know the
people and the place well enough to feel
that I can represent it.
Writer/Director:
After the great Egyptian Revolution in 2011,
which demanded change, I think that the
Egyptian community has become in dire
need of a new perspective that expresses
change. My film is an extension of that
search. I investigate this idea through the
main character Sayed, the young Egyptian
man who yearns for freedom while at the
same time battles with his faith, values
and traditions. The coexistence of these
conflicting sentiments continues within
this young man until he discovers himself
inside of opposing worlds. This is what
most of our Egyptian youth feel right now.
Mohamed Ramadan was born in Cairo in 1981 to an
Egyptian mother and a Palestinian father. He received
a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2006. He first
started working in the field in 2008 as a fixer for
Al Jazeera English documentaries and later as an
assistant director on documentaries, feature films
and commercials with various companies. He has also
worked as the project manager on the award-winning
feature film Basra (2009). In 2010, he received his
Bachelor degree in Directing from the Higher Institute
of Cinema. He wrote and directed Hawas (senses), a
short fiction film which was screened at many festivals
including the Dubai International Film Festival and
has since won a number of awards. Ramadan has also
participated in several workshops dedicated to human
rights and cinema.
To outsiders, the community that I am
basing my film on appears unwelcoming
and insular, but, for the people there; the
outside world is the isolating and ugly one.
In a way, that notion is very similar to the
way that the former Mubarak regime had
functioned - widening the gap between
social classes and scaring them from each
other. Although this world may appear so
alien to us at first, we will soon realize it
is so close to us geographically, but so far
removed from us intellectually.
I intend shoot in the real locations on
the cemetery grounds and work with the
locals there. We will see this peculiar
world and its details, offering a film that
is stylistically and cinematically different,
as it takes on the tone and rhythm of the
place in which it is set.
Eissa Gamal El Din
Writer:
production status:
in development
production company:
Misr International Films
(Youssef Chahine)
Eissa Gamal El Din received a Bachelor in Drama
and Criticism from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in
2010, following a bachelor’s degree in 2003 in Quality
Control Technology. He wrote several plays that were
adapted on stage, including “Promised Land” (2007),
which won the Best Screenplay Prize at the Higher
Institute of Dramatic Arts in Egypt. Other plays written
by Eissa include “The Jungle” (2004), and “Features”
(2004), which also won the best screenplay award.
In additional to plays that competed nationally, Eissa
has contributed to regional and international theatre
writing such as “Zeer Salem” (2009), “Trader” (2007)
and “Marginalized” (2008).
22
23
What do you do when you discover that the path you have chosen was
based on a distorted truth? A story of maturity set in a time of change.
SYNOPSIS
Marwa’s mother suddenly passes
away just days before she is to leave
Egypt for good. Marwa insists she
can stick to her plan and find closure
to loose ends before she travels.
But everything changes when she
buries her mother only to discover
that her mother wished to be buried
elsewhere. Now Marwa is stuck in her
mother’s flat with a dug up corpse and
a secret she is trying to unravel: the
mystery of why after years of divorce
her mother wished to be buried next to
her ex-husband, Marwa’s father whom
she knew so little about.
‫لحظات إنتحارية‬
SUICIDAL NATIONS
Eman El Naggar
between their small twisted lives and
the larger inescapable revolution.
Rania, her mother’s maid, now left
jobless and penniless, steals the
mother’s valuables hiding the one
clue that might answer Marwa’s
questioning. Gradually a new mutual
fondness between Marwa and Rania
replaces their old classist impressions
and the two learn to believe in
themselves and the world outside their
walls.
Then there is Samy, her mother’s
neighbor and old friend and a suicidal
therapist whose wife just left him. He
avoids Marwa because now he has to
Hesitant to leave, her dilemma
return a room to her. The problem is
is intensified by the fact that her
husband is already in Australia waiting the room is his daughter’s and he is
for her and a revolution has broken out trying to salvage the last thing from
his failed marriage.
outside her mother’s apartment just
off Tahrir square.
Marwa soon realizes that change is
possible and that escaping will get you
In her quest Marwa’s world collides
nowhere.
with those like her who are stuck
24
25
LETTER OF INTENT
Ever since January 25th of last year
and the events that ensued, I felt a
physical parallel between where Egypt
stands as a nation, where I stand
as an individual, and where all the
characters of the film also stand, at
a crossroad where the severity of the
decision to take the leap of faith into
the unknown and to change ones’ life
seems almost suicidal in nature. For
me on a personal level, embracing the
revolution in reality meant that life will
end as I know it. Although that change
comes with ecstasy it also comes with
much pain - a pain caused by a feeling
of loss and being lost - that is the only
path to rebirth.
The first 18 days of the revolution were
a dream in every sense of the word; to
some it was ultimate utopia, to others
an utter nightmare, but to most like
myself feelings seesawed fluctuating
from one end of that spectrum to the
other from minute to minute.
In Suicidal Notions the characters
share one common obstacle which
can be summed up as being pushed by
circumstances to a point of no return;
they have no choice but to face the
conflict between oneself versus reality.
Eman El Naggar
Egyptian reality that has changed
drastically recently, it inspired me to
set my characters into this new world
that I have been experiencing that is
bursting with life, death and chaos,
in exchange for the stagnant life that
they, and I, all longed to escape from
before.
writer & director
Eman El Naggar earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre
specializing in set & costume design from the American
University in Cairo (1996). In 2001, she studied
filmmaking at the Vancouver Film School in Canada.
She is currently a freelance director, with previous
work experience in costume design and studio-sound
recording and editing. She is also an alumnus of the
Berlinale Talent Campus (2010).
Visually it is old versus new; crowded
crammed up spaces versus barren
and empty, bright blurry lights versus
dark. These contrasts evoke life and
death, endings and beginnings. Adding
a touch of truth and gravity to the film,
I will play with real footage sometimes
to emphasize the idea of reality
versus fiction. Sound too is a key
element in this film as it connects the
self-isolated characters to the wider
setting emphasizing the madness of
chaos.
My intention is to capture the spirit of
change. The goal of this film is not to
document the revolution. In Suicidal
Notions it is the peculiar turn of events
that drag the characters into absurd
situations. I am interested in personal
change, which to me is the real
meaning of a revolution.
Eman’s first experiences starting 1998 were in the
costume departments of Youssef Chahine’s and Yousry
Nasrallah’s film sets. After which she earned years
of experience working in a variety of local and foreign
feature films as an assistant director and script and
continuity supervisor, as well as in documentaries,
shorts and even some TV commercial sets.
production status:
in development
production company:
Aker Productions
Producer : Mohamed
el Tohami
Adress: 38 street 6
Maadi – Cairo
Email: tohami@
akerproductions.com
Website: www.
akerproductions.com
Tel: +201227837457
Eman directed three shorts. The first two, Met’akhara
(LATE) and ‘Alam ‘Akhar (ANOTHER WORLD), produced
in 2006, screened in a number of local and international
film festivals, winning her a few awards. While her
third and last short film Khayal Soora (SHADOW OF A
PICTURE) which was funded by the Egyptian Ministry
of Culture was selected for the official selection at the
Dubai International Film Festival (2009) and Montpelier
Film Festival (2010). She was also commissioned as
director/producer to do some stand alone episodes
for al Jazeera Children’s Channel, on two of their TV
programs.
Since 2010 Eman has been writing the script for
her first feature Suicidal Notions which is to go into
production in October 2012 with Aker Productions and
producer Mohamed El Tohami. Meanwhile the team
continues fundraising after receiving a fund from
al Mawred al Thaqafi for script development and a
production fund from the Egyptian ministry of culture.
26
27
He is on a date with the tales on the train...they never fail him,
they show up every time.
SYNOPSIS
A week before the results of an important
global literary award are announced,
the famous novelist El Saleh Darwish is
suffering from writer’s block, rendering
him impotent in his craft. In order to
escape his condition, he decides to embark
on a journey, boarding a low-class train in
an effort to find new stories to refuel his
writing desires. During the 9-hour train
ride from Cairo to Alexandria, which stops
at sporadic intervals, El Saleh unlocks his
senses to digest all the conversations that
surround him.
‫المطلوق‬
The Unleashed
Yasser Naeim
While El Saleh absorbs the surrounding
passengers’ stories, the train makes a
rest stop in the town of “Sidi Matlouk”, a
small, neglected and poverty stricken rural
village which derived its name from the
story of a small boy who acquired saintly
status by performing miracles according to
the legend that surrounds his name.
The village has become a popular
attraction to people who believe in the
supernatural powers of the young boy.
Intrigued by this phenomenon, the writer
exits the train and is welcomed by the
boy’s mother in a makeshift hut, where
she serves free tea to all travelers and
visitors. As soon as he enters the place,
he is transported into a mystical and
Sufi atmosphere while conversing with
her. As the train is about to depart,
El Saleh Darwish is forced to board it
before hearing the complete story of Al
Matlkouk. When he arrives in Alexandria,
he is inspired by the story and begins to
contemplate writing, only to realize that
he is still paralyzed by his writer’s block.
Thus he decides to leave the city to locate
El Matlouk in order to find answers to the
questions that are haunting his mind.
However, as he boards the return train, El
Saleh Darwish is met with a big surprise
that will change the course of his life
forever…
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29
LETTER OF INTENT
I am preoccupied with truth…
What happens when you reach
success knowing fully well that it is
based on pure lying? This question
occupies my thoughts. Every path we
follow in pursuit of a particular end is
unpredictable with possibilities beyond
our forecasts, which along the way may
take us to an unwarranted end. From
this springs the initial idea for the film.
Through a journey filled with stories,
questions and paradoxes which in its
own way flows towards a trial for an
answer to that main question which
lends itself to other inquiries about
worth and truth among others.
In 2003, I started writing this film for
the first time as a script for a short
feature. To turn it into a long one was
only something I could dream of at the
time. My drive to write the film was
greater and more deeply anchored than
any possibility to abort the project. I
couldn’t produce the film then but the
idea never left me for years to come.
I rewrote it several times. Last year
the series of rewrites ended with a
preliminary adaptation. I used to feel
jealous whenever I watched a film that
conveyed the identity and flavor of a
place, I can think of but a few films
that I can truly call ‘Egyptian’ despite
the many and diverse productions by
Egyptian filmmakers.
It seemed almost organic to make my
first film about local stories and narrate
them through a storytelling loyal to
the ways of the culture in which they
thrive. I first encountered storytelling
as an oral tradition as is the case with
most Egyptians. Egyptians are talented
narrators which is an element that I
tried to employ in telling this tale. The
main character is a novelist who sets
the style of the story in the way that
literature unfolds. I aspire to make this
production a presentation that is both
cinematic and literary in its style; closer
to what I perceive to be an Egyptian
cinematic tale. This story is about
those we forget in the convergence of
our narrations. It fascinates me that
such people haven’t the slightest idea
in the middle of life’s hustle and bustle
of how unique, and in many ways,
whimsical their existence is. My mind
races with curiosity at thinking of how
they talk, how they carry themselves,
what they wear and how they engage
with strangers. I’ve found that I come
closer to these stories when I step out
of the routine cycles and landscapes of
my life in the city, whose buzz is almost
allergic to any effort at contemplation.
I find myself on a well-kept date with
such details on the margins of the city
and I feel a strong desire to tell about it
all. I feel indebted to these faces. I am
perhaps a storyteller because of exactly
that.
Yasser Naeim
writer & director
Born in 1977, Yasser Naeim, who graduated from Aim
Shams University in 1998 with a B.Sc of Commerce,
has always had a passion for storytelling and directing.
After enrolling in an Art Lab for Cinema Directing at
the American University in Cairo in 2004, Naeim has
worked as an assistant director, production manager
and later on as a director for several Al Jazeera
documentary projects. Collaborative and creative,
Yasser chose the independent film route and directed
the documentary “Improvisation” in 2010. Yasser has
also worked as a scriptwriter for a few local TV series
and worked with Ibrahim El Batout as a co-writer and
first assistant director on the film “The Past Winter”.
Recently, he has been writing his first script for his
feature film “The Unleashed”
production status:
in development
production company:
Misr International Films
(Youssef Chahine)
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31
Script Coaches & Consultants
Jacques Akchoti
After his studies at the NYU film school, Jacques Akchoti has
worked in different areas of film production with directors such
as R.Bresson, JJ. Beineix, L. Von Trier.
He then became a screenwriter, script consultant, and headed
the development of many French and international films for
cinema and television, which obtained selections and awards at
major film festivals. Most recently, “A Screaming Man” by Haroun
Mahamat Saleh, recipient of many awards, notably the Jury Prize
at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.
been teaching at the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona,
the FEMIS (National French Film School) in Paris, les Ateliers
VARAN and the University Stendhal-Grenoble 3. She worked
as an independent film producer, and held various posts at the
Centre National de la Cinematographie, ARTE, and in the French
Ministry of Culture. She has been a reader for many prestigious
script selection committees including Fonds Sud, Aide à
l’écriture, Media, and Cinema 93.
He has directed a feature film for television and written several
screenplays. His latest script, “Don’t Look back”, a film by Marina
De Van featuring Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci was part
of the Official Selection of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
Jacques has been teaching writing and directing at the Femis
(National French Filmschool) since 1988 and has facilitated many
international screenwriting and development workshops, among
which EAVE, Sud Ecriture, DV8 films, Vision Cinema, Ekran and
Interchange.
Marie-Pierre Duhamel Muller
Marie-Pierre is a curator, festival programmer, producer, writer
and teacher. She acts as the curator of films for various festivals
including Locarno, Pesaro, Turin, Venice and Lisbon. She was
the Festival Director of the International Cinema du Reel festival
at the Centre Pompidou from 2004-2008. She has been the
curator of various retrospectives including screenings of the
works of Spanish filmmaker Victor Erice , and of the late Syrian
director Omar Amiralay. Other than her numerous and multifaceted roles in festival programming and selection committees,
Marie-Pierre also teaches script-writing and cinema. She has
Maia Malas-Jaafar
Maia Malas-Jaafar was born and raised in Amman, Jordan
and went on to study Middle Eastern Studies and Political
Science at the University of Toronto. She began her career
in 2001 in print journalism, writing and editing in her
native Jordan before moving to the UK and working on
projects of journalism dialogue and exchange between the
Middle East and Europe at the BBC World Service Trust.
During this time she became more interested in exploring
audiovisual storytelling and went on to do a Masters in
production in 2007. Maia then focused on forging the first
BBC World Service Trust partnership with an Egyptian
production company, developing and co-producing a
critically Arabic drama TV series that was aired in 2011.
Working with talented journalists, writers, directors and
producers in the Middle East and the UK inspired her to
launch Metis Media with producer Jonathan Curling. Their
media consultancy focuses on supporting the development
of Arabic TV and film scripts to international production
values and standards.
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33
Producers
Marianne Khoury
Gabriel Khoury
Marianne is a Cairo-based filmmaker. Although
she majored in Economics both in Cairo and Oxford,
Marianne gravitated towards the cinema world soon
after graduating. For over three decades, she was a
close collaborator of iconic filmmaker Youssef Chahine.
Captivated by ‘auteur cinema’, she produces independent
films that go against the grain of Egyptian cinematic
themes. Marianne directed her first documentary film,
THE TIMES OF LAURA in 1999, followed by WOMEN WHO
LOVED CINEMA in 2002. These two documentaries explore
the ground breaking work achieved by avant-garde women
in Egypt nearly a century ago. Her most recent project,
ZELAL, focused on individual and societal perceptions of
the mentally ill, raising questions about the concept of
madness itself. ZELAL received critical acclaim and was
an official entry in the Venice Film Festival 2010. The
film also won the FIPRESCI at the Dubai Film Festival
of the same year, and the RAI Broadcasting award at
PRIMED 2011. Often acting as conduit between artists
and the cinema industry, Marianne was instrumental
in introducing the first edition of the Panorama of the
European Film in Cairo in 2004. Her current project,
Misr Film Focus, is committed to nurturing the talents
of emerging young Egyptian directors by developing and
producing their films.
Gabriel has a strong educational background in
Engineering and Business, with degrees earned from
the American University in Beirut and the University of
Surrey. He entered the world of film production in 1990
as Managing Director and Producer at Misr International
Films. Gabriel has many critically acclaimed films and
documentaries under his belt, namely, Youssef Chahine’s
final works, CHAOS (2007), ALEXANDRIA, NEW YORK
(2004) and DESTINY (1997), CLOSED DOORS by Atef
Hetata, The AQUARIUM (2008) and ON BOYS, GIRLS AND
THE VEIL (1995) by Yousry Nasrallah . Gabriel’s eclectic
range of experience has enriched his artistic and technical
scope, resulting in a dynamic mix of entrepreneurial,
cinematic and artistic talents. Gabriel was a key player
in the City Stars complex, which is home to the first and
most successful multiplex in Egypt. Most importantly,
Gabriel has played an instrumental role in luring back
disenchanted audiences who had given up on cinema,
reviving their passion to watch films inside a movie
theatre. These achievements have earned Gabriel his
unique position in the industry. With his expert distribution
skills, Gabriel will play a key role in Misr Film Focus by
developing the projects of young filmmakers from script to
screen.
34
Junior Producer
Trainee Producers
35
May Hossam El Dine
Mohamed Haridy
Soon after graduating from Cairo University in 1991, May
followed her passion for art and joined Misr International
Films. Throughout the years, she has been a close
collaborator of Gabriel Khoury and has amassed a
vast amount of experience in project development, coproduction, film distribution and sales. She has namely
worked as an assistant producer on numerous films by
acclaimed director Youssef Chahine including “Chaos”,
“The Other” and “Destiny”. May has also acted as a
production coordinator for several foreign productions
from Europe, the US and Japan and has worked on films
directed by filmmakers such as Yousri Nasrallah, Khaled
el Haggar and Atef Hetata.
Born in Cairo in 1986, Mohamed Haridy entered the
world of Media soon after graduating with a Mass
Communications degree. He started out his training as
an assistant director for various TV channels, including
El Hayat and El Mehwar. Wanting to expand his horizons,
Haridy then ventured into the world of production by
joining Misr International Films to work on the TV Drama
Zaat, which was co-produced by the BBC Media Action
and directed by Kamla Abu Zekri. More recently, he
has been acting as the coordinator of Misr Film Focus,
the company’s initiative geared towards talented young
Egyptian filmmakers, from the project’s inception in 2011
until the present date.
Mouwafak Chourbagui
Born in Beirut in 1986, Mouwafak settled in Egypt and
graduated from the American University in Cairo in 2008
with a B.A in Business Administration (marketing) and
a minor in International Relations. After some work
experience in the fields of advertising and socio-political
development, Chourbagui stumbled into the cinema
industry by working with a French director in February
2011 on a documentary on Egyptian “Shaabi” (popular)
music that was shot for the ARTE cultural show Tracks.
He has since joined Misr International films, participating
in several MIF projects including the 4th Panorama of
the European Film and Misr Film Focus. Mouwafak has
participated in production and scriptwriting workshops,
interacting with young artists from the region and
participating in the development of scripts in order to
enhance his skills and develop his technique.
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Misr Film Focus
Following in the footsteps of its founder, Youssef Chahine,
Misr International Films has launched Misr Film Focus, a
production initiative, aimed at developing and sustaining
working relationships with Egyptian emerging talents.
The aim is to bring them into an environment, through
mentoring and financial support, that will allow them
to grow as filmmakers with an exposure to local and
international audiences.
In this first round, Misr Film Focus has identified six
projects that have been chosen out of the 140 applications
received. The selected projects will go through a vigorous
process from script to screen- developing, producing,
and distributing each film to a quality that deems
comprehensive and commercially viable.
First-time filmmakers will have the unique experience
of working on developing their films to bring both good
story telling and producing values to the forefront. Several
workshops will take place under the supervision of local
and international experts. Misr Film Focus will work to the
international and lucrative digital films working standards
of high script quality, relatively low budget, an efficient
schedule and a creative and collaborative cast and crew.
Misr International Films, with interested partners, will
produce and distribute the films as part of their slate of
annual film release. Besides allowing co-producers access
to new filmmakers which have gone through a rigorous
selection process and are likely to have a breakthrough
into the international film scene, this initiative will also
ensure that its projects are financially viable.
Misr Film Focus is definitely comprehensive with the full
scope of expertise and facilities needed to make fresh
Egyptian films that audiences will want to see.
www.misrinternationalfilms.com