The Goethe-Institut Egypt held its annual Goethe Film Week this year in Cairo from 2 to 9 May, and in Alexandria from 2 to 6 May, with selected films touring Minya and Aswan in Upper Egypt, the Delta town of Damanhour and the Suez Canal town of Ismailiya.
This year’s film spanned a selection of German contemporary feature films and documentaries as well as an exclusive selection of special screenings or premieres of Arab films. Migration, definition of home, revolutions, wars, family and women in society formed the topics of this year’s film-week. Relevant discussions were held with filmmakers, experts and the audience.
Viewers were able to watch Anne Zohra Berrached’s award-winning 24 weeks which tackles late abortion, one of the most difficult life choices. There was also the black comedy Toni Erdmann which was nominated for an Oscar and a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festivals; it tells the story of a father-daughter relationship in modern life.
The drama House Without A Roof of young Kurdish filmmaker Soleen Youssef discusses the journey of three siblings looking for their homeland and identity.
Presented for the first time in Egypt at the opening evening of the Goethe Film Week was the Egyptian-German production Egyptian Jeanne d’Arc by director Iman Kamel. The profound and mostly silent work shows a poetic and masterful exploration of Egyptian women’s emancipation in post-revolution Egypt and reflects a woman’s daily resistance to social norms; a modern documentary fusing genres through dance, poetic narrative and mythology to offer a bold, transparent look at women’s issues in Egypt today.
All the films were presented with English and/or Arabic subtitling.
Watani International
7 May 2017