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QENAWY

Abdel Elsabour, not yet 20, lives in Upper Egypt, isolated from the city, striving to capture shots for “Al-Marmah.” This film showcases the annual celebrations in Upper Egypt, featuring horse dancing and jousting. Abdel is caught between the traditional customs of his village and the cultural openness of his generation. He travels from city to city just to watch movies, dresses stylishly, listens to rap, and skateboards at night, feeling alienated in his village due to his differences. His dream is to become a cinematographer and study abroad, seeking to bridge his village’s traditions with his modern aspirations.

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.

Directors

Length

4.29

Language

Arabic

Country of production

Egypt

Genre

Documentary

Year

2022

Screening