Project 12 The Egyptian Documentary Project Documentary films are ever increasing in their popularity in the Arab world. Media outlets and TVchannels across the region are increasingly allocating large amounts of broadcasting hours to screen such films. “Project 12” The central value of “Project 12” is to present a number of uniquely Egyptian stories told by a new breed of young Egyptian filmmakers. Over a period of 12 months, will team up with a wellchosen team of aspiring young filmmakers to produce 12 exceptionally noteworthy documentary films. They are guided through the process of producing their film, from the timid beginnings and brainstorming sessions through to shooting and post production. This group of rising filmmakers, hungry to break into the industry, would otherwise face major obstacles finding opportunities to produce or fund their projects. Moreover, distribution and gaining access to a large scale audience would be extremely difficult. The “Project 12” team provides them with a cutting edge production capacity to steer their ideas forward and bring them to light. Project 12 proudly supports these passionate filmmakers on their path to creating thought provoking, engaging and singularly Egyptian films.
Report As part of his work at the ministry of culture, Ahmed Abdou is assigned to write up a report on the operations of Egypt’s National
As part of his work at the ministry of culture, Ahmed Abdou is assigned to write up a report on the operations of Egypt’s National Circus. As Ahmed proceeds with his dull government job, our director of the film finds himself unveiling a unexpected world of controlled chaos.
In the 1960’s, Egypt’s Nasser was
inspired to establish the country’s first national circus following a visit to the Soviet Union. After a school for that purpose was established, amateur players turned professionals and one of the nation’s foremost methods of joy and entertainment started to gain foothold.
Yet
the bright outer image of the circus at present dwarfs a much more bleak situation from within. Work conditions, generational conflicts, and arrested aspirations barely begin to skin the surface of the insight we are able to gain through the lens of this film.
About the filmmaker Ahmed Abdou graduated from the Higher Institute of Cinema and participated in the production of several documentary and feature films. He also directed a documentary film called “Cafes: Egyptian impressions”
A game of Russian roulette in the backstreets of Cairo
As he wandered through the alleyways of one of Cairo’s working-class neighborhoods, filmmaker Abdullah Khaled is surrounded by thugs and robbed. After seeking the help of local friends, he manages to get his belongings back. The events of the robbery open our director’s eyes to a u underground world that often cloaks crime, thuggery, and danger.
During the course of the film, Khaled peals away the layers revealing the story through the context of the manufacturing of a locally-made pistol that shoots a single shot. The pistol is held by a man who attempts to use it for suicide for a mysterious reason. Each blank shot drives us into one aspect of the underground life of backstreet Cairo. “6 Blank” is a documentary that takes us by the hand and dives with us deep into the back alley world of drug dealing, thuggery, local arms trade, street fighting and the unspoken code of conduct that weaves through them all.
About the filmmaker Abdullah Khaled shot and directed a number of short documentary films that documented several events of the Egyptian revolution. He was detained during the course of shooting “Blocked Road” that documented the events of the Israeli embassy protests in Cairo in September 2011.
Each day, Mariam stands before the mirror to analyzing and assessing, she is checking and double checking the way she has dressed. Somewhere in the depth of her mirror Mariam recognizes a part of that reflection, she recognises that doesn’t enjoy the full liberty of choosing one’s own style. The dress style of an Egyptian woman is often governed by factors like religion, society, social status, and one’s own political orientation.
“Mariam’s Mirror” is the journey of young filmmaker Mariam Saleh into the wonderfully warped world of women dress code in Egypt. Saleh follows the daily life of four Egyptian girls who have chosen to live their lives within the context of different styles of dress. The film is an attempt to shed light on the ripple effect a woman’s choice in dressing and how these choices affect her private, public and professional life. In doing so, it also captures the changes that occurred to women’s clothing in Egypt in the last three decades and how the fashion industry accommodates and responds to the ongoing developments in society, culture, and politics.
About the filmmaker Mariam Saleh is a young filmmaker who
holds a bachelor’s degree in media and communication from Cairo University. She directed a number of documentary films like “Matareya’s Beethoven” and “06060”.
In his family house in Alexandria, Mohamed Dawood finds a mesmerising photo album of his father during his youth. Dawood’s father, Khaled Dawood, is an engineer, a former Muslim Brotherhood member, and one of the founders of Egypt’s Al Jama’a Al Islameya in the 1970’s. Back then, Al Jama’a Al Islameya, or the Islamic Group, was an Islamist student movement tolerated by the authorities to help crush the leftist opposition. Then it was merged with the Muslim Brotherhood.
This integration, however, didn’t last for long. And by the 1990’s towards the beginning of the new millennium, various splits occurred within to result into different impressions of the wider Islamist movement that we see today.Mohamed Dawood, also the filmmaker, has decided to explore his father’s own narrative of its establishment.
Adopting a more reformist attitude towards his father’s own heritage, Mohamed Dawood, the upscale private university student, goes on a journey of discovery through his family archive that includes photos, audio cassette tapes, and letters.
Mohamed Dawood studied engineering at the German University in Cairo but then decided to go onto a path of filmmaking to satisfy his passion since 2007. He participated in a number of documentary films.
القاهرة ترقص
Eslam Fayez once wished to be a dancer out of a passion for movement and action. Through searching for the meaning of dancing in Cairo, Fayez presents an often unexplored impression of the crowded and hectic Egyptian capital. Throughout the course of the film, we follow the story of various types of dancing in Cairo. This includes: street dancing, Hip Hop, foreign bellydancers, Parkour, Tango trainers, and contemporary dance troupes.
Eslam Fayez is a student of
communications at Cairo University with a passion for dancing and filmmaking at the same time. He was previously trained on cinematography and video-editing. “Cairo is dancing� is his first documentary project.
The Returnee
Although Shokry was born in Cairo, his familial bonds with Upper Egypt has remained wellestablished in the form of seasonal visits to family and friends. Shokry Manaa, the filmmaker, follows the return journey of two people who have immigrated from Upper Egypt to find better prospects in the capital city of Cairo. They had stayed in Cairo for several decades but eventually felt an urge to reconnect with their original community, one that is much different from the eye-dazzling Egyptian capital. The film tries to explore the feelings of estrangement and alienation an Upper Egyptian migrant feels in Cairo while Shokry Manaa attempts to find the remaining bonds between this world and himself.
About the filmmaker
Shokry Manaa was born in 1983 and has been working as a professional photographer. He showed his photography in a number of exhibitions. “The Returnee� is his first long documentary film.