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Marwan Tarek

Still: QENAWY

Marwan Tarek graduated from Victoria College, Alexandria, in 2016 and studies fine arts at Alexandria University. He made his first short film at 11 in a Bibliotheca Alexandrina competition, quickly becoming part of a prominent filmmaking team in Egypt. His viral graduation video for Victoria College Class of ‘16, an unpaid Vodafone advertisement, brought him early fame. Mentored by director Ahmed Al-Naggar, Marwan worked as an assistant director for three years. His film “Young People” won first place in the Ministry of Youth’s film competition, earning him a scholarship to study mobile filmmaking in Tunisia. His film “The Dark Side of Victoria” was selected for the Trés Court International Film Festival. Marwan’s music videos, including “Muftares” and “Nazlet Samman,” gained widespread popularity in Egypt.

Q: What inspired the story behind your short film?
A: I was inspired by a picture taken by Abdel Sabour, the guide on the Internet. It showed a happy man washing his horse from a bridge. I started searching for Abdel Sabour, and surprisingly, he was also looking for me. So, I made the film with him.

Q: Can you discuss any unique challenges you faced during production?
A: This film was self-produced, and everyone worked together to bring it to life despite the very low budget.

Q: How did you approach character development within the limited runtime of a short film?
A: By living alongside Abdel Sabour. He came to my hometown, met my friends, and we talked about everything apart from the film. This helped me understand the threads of his character.

Q: What message or emotion do you hope the audience takes away from your film?
A: Acceptance of differences and understanding the logic of contradiction. We are all human beings with unique traits.

Q: How do you see your short film fitting into your broader body of work or future projects?
A: It reflects my ambitions and life experience in exploring human characters. I believe that writing and exploration are what led to my directorial debut in documentation.

Q: If you could cast any actor, living or dead, in your next project, who would it be and why?
A: Egyptian actor Ahmed Rateb. He was very influential in my upbringing, a sincere actor who could seamlessly transition between characters.

Q: What’s the strangest piece of advice you’ve ever received about filmmaking?
A: “Make films and be a director, but don’t live as a director, or you’ll become an employee in the art field.”

Q: Why are festivals like the FAME Shorts Film Festival so important?
A: It’s vital for this film to reach people everywhere, as the world is vast, and we must all coexist in peace.

Films

Documentary