Last Order
A film by Tamer Elsahhar
Produced by Karim ElCharkawy
Logline
Karim, an autistic young man, wakes up in a local cafe to find himself not able to pay his large bill which puts him under the threat of violence from the cafe workers.
Synopsis
Karim, a young man with autism, suddenly wakes up from a short nap in a busy café feeling confused and struggling with his own thoughts and memories of his lost father. As the café prepares to close, the staff asks him to pay for his food and drinks. Karim realizes he doesn’t have any money but he is unable to communicate with anyone which irritates a waiter in the Café while another tries to contain him. This causes jealousy and a stressful situation ensues as the tension between Karim and the frustrated staff rises. One is sympathetic although impatient, the other tries to help, but one waiter starts to treat him as a threat.
Treatment
Karim wakes up from a short nap in a café wearing a weird jeans jacket on his homewear. Trying to remember what got him here he is looking around observing everything around him. On the seat right infront of him, he found his father Eng. Galal who has been reading his newspaper while his son was asleep. He tells him right away how peaceful he looks when he’s asleep and tells him a story he has in memory of Karim’s childhood.
Noha, the waitress in the café, cuts this conversation as she is trying to figure out who Karim was smiling at as she isn’t seeing anyone sitting at his table. She politely and softly gives him a compliment about how peaceful he looks as he sleeps. And politely informs him that the café is closing down if he needs to have a last order.
Standing closely and observing the entire conversation, Mahmoud the waiter in the café and Noha’s fiancé, started to feel a little jealous and provoked from the soft way Noha talked to Karim with. So he takes the cheque from Ibrahim the café manager and lays it on Karim’s table in an aggressive and provoking way which surprised him very much. But Karim’s unresponsive and not talking nature start putting Mahmoud on his nerves more raising his aggressive nature especially when he observes Karim interacting with the empty seat infront of him.
Inside Karim’s head, Eng. Galal is continuously asking him if he’s going to respond to such aggressiveness and disappointed that he isn’t doing anything. To get himself out of such pressure, Karim searches in his jacket pockets to see if he has any money on him to pay the bill. But he finds nothing but a credit card that maybe he can use. So he shows it to Mahmoud who goes back to the counter to bring the visa machine.
Treatment
When Mahmoud arrives, he uses the machine with the card and asks Karim to enter the card’s password. He tries the first trial, but fails. He tries it again and fails again, Karim doesn’t know the card’s password. So Mahmoud’s aggressiveness increases, and his tone of voice goes louder. Ibrahim tries to calm him down asking Karim about the entire situation and if he will be able to contact someone to help. Eng. Gallal keeps on looking disappointed at Karim feeling that his son has failed him.
While the tension and pressure are rising on Karim, Noha asks Mahmoud and Ibrahim if they can let her handle this. So she sits next to Karim asking him nicely about the situation and his case. Suddenly, Karim breaks into tears sobbing and throws himself in the arms of Noha. That definitely didn’t land well on Mahmoud who is now insisting to beat Karim up.
Suddenly Khaled, Karim’s older brother, opens the door of the café and gets in surprised to see his sobbing brother. So he tries to act physically towards Mahmoud but gets stopped by Ibrahim who explains the entire situation. Khaled uses the visa machine and taps in the card’s password, takes his brother and leaves the place while shouting at everybody.
Outside, in Khaled’s car we see in the background the café staff is leaving while Karim is observing them. A moment of connection occurs between Noha and Karim while Khaled tries to calm him down in a brother moment and they both observe the shadow of their father in the backseat of the car each in their own point of view. Karim is back to his safe zone.
Characters
Karim Galal
24 years old, autistic, and with clear communication problems. Karim spent most of his life living with his father Gallal the prestigious architect after the passing of the mother and the absence of his brother Khaled. His relationship with his father has always been confusing, from one side he always suffered from his dad’s constant demand of excellence and his short temper which has always been pressuring for him, and from the other side the constant love he had for his father’s gentle moments and care was undeniable and drove him to be really attached to him. An attachment which gave Karim a hard time in getting over the passing away of his father later in time.
Karim’s relationship with his brother Khaled has been really strong since he could be considered as his backbone specially after the passing of their mother. The number of times Khaled stood up for him against the constant pressure of their father makes him in the position of a savior or a Superhero.
Karim’s interactions with the world have been limited along the years due to the over protective nature of his family towards him specially with his case, so he barely been moving or going anywhere without context. He’s always been at school, in college, or any of places on purpose.
Eng. Galal
A renowned Egyptian architect who is well known for his local achievements along the years. Married directly after graduation from his colleague Mona. Gallal has a perfectionist attitude, this made him constantly demanding for excellence from all those around him creating undeniable pressure for everybody. With all that mentioned, having an autistic child is definitely a defect and an error in his life that he couldn’t do anything about..
His relationship with his youngest autistic son Karim has been rocky. at a point his son needs to be on top of the world in anything he’s doing with no excuses, and from another point he is full of sympathy for his situation and full of beautiful love for his peaceful son.
His relationship with his eldest son Khaled has always been not well. For most of the time khaled has been the disappointing factor in his life. Always failing to meet his expectations which caused them to be in constant argument and fight which increased more after his mother died.
32 years old, very talented musician and artist. Always been considered as the rebel in the family as he always went against the pressure of his father. Eng. Galla) has always been extremely hard on him neglecting his own wishes and dreams in favor of what he wished could be.
He is the protector of his brother Karim and the kindest one with him. He always stood up for him in school, between his friends and even against their father sometimes.
Khaled left home at a young age and went on to live by himself away from their father and his control. He definitely feels guilty sometimes for leaving Karim behind to their dad’s control and hard temper but he still is trying his best to be the protector he is meant to be.
Khaled Galal
29 years old, a waitress at the café, born and raised in a small local neighborhood in Cairo to two hard working parents. With great experience in handling kids because of her constant duty of taking care of her nephews and nieces. She has been engaged to her coworker Mahmoud for more than two years now and they are both struggling to get the suitable funds for their marriage.
Noha can strike you to be a girl of simple natural looks but the moment You start talking to her and get to see her kindness and softness she becomes a very attractive person,
37 years old, from a very local area in Cairo, he has huge frustration for being at his current age and not able to get married or fulfill any of his dreams. He has been engaged to Noha for two years and Can’t seem to make things happen. He is very frustrated with life which makes him think that he’s smarter and brighter than everyone so in his opinion he is better than his manager and even the owner of the place.
He is always over protective of Noha and jealous of anybody who tries to get close to her. The only reason he is agreeing on her to keep her job is the fact that her salary will help in the life expenses after marriage.
42 years old, the main manager in the café, a very peaceful and calm man that is trying constantly to avoid conflict and make life easier. Yet, he is a very manipulative man who is trying to move everybody and everyone to his favor. He has long years of experience in his job and he almost met all the people he could meet into it.
Our world
Cairo’s café culture serves as a mirror for the broader societal and economic shifts Egypt has undergone in recent years.
A great social and economic divide is often reflected between patrons and staff, a divide that is continuously apparent in their interactions.
Clients frequently exhibit a sense of entitlement, sometimes treating workers with condescension or even arrogance.
Conversely, waiters may have a hidden resentment, masking their true feelings with forced politeness.
Caught in the middle, managers strive to appease demanding customers, sometimes at the expense of their staff.
This dynamic creates a charged atmosphere where premature judgments and unfair assessments are commonplace.
Target Audience
Our film is about how neurodivergent, specifically autistic, persons can be misunderstood and cause others to be frustrated simply because they perceive the world and express themselves differently. This story contains the theme of judgement, acceptance, class tension and of course neurodivergence. These themes are of interest to the 35-50 age demographic, male and female especially those who are parents or caretakers of a neurodivergent person.
And since our protagonist is a young man this film will also touch those in the 18-35 age demographic who may relate the most to him.
We believe that this film will touch neurodivergent persons in general, regardless of their age, but also their close circles, their parents and their friends who try to navigate the world with a neurodivergent person. We believe that “LAST ORDER” is truly a social drama for everyone.
Visual Style
The film will be divided into three stages when it comes to the lighting mood and action in scenery.
The first stage would be when the café is still open and operating which can be of high-key light mood, colorful set design, active and loud lounge music in the speakers and very active workers of the café attending to the visitors in the place.
The second stage is when the café starts closing its gates and in order to add more tension to the drama the café can stop the music, dim the lights to announce that it’s already closing and the number of workers in the place can be reduced to the number of people involved in the action.
The third stage is the intimate scenes between the two brothers in the car.
I prefer them to be of minimum lighting (only lights coming from outside the car and street lights) in order to keep that sense of intimacy and realism to the mood. The vision is to have the events of this film happening in a very small café location where everybody are actually connected and can hear each other talk. Like for example two people who are whispering at the coffee counter can be heard from the table next to the window. The tight space, low lights, whispering sounds and hidden conversations will definitely add more tension for the protagonist and create more drama.
location Refrence
Moodboard
Cafe Sequence
Car Sequence
The Crew
Tamer Elsahhar Director
Tamer El Sahhar, a Cairo native, was born and raised in the lively city in January 1988. He pursued interior design at The Art and Design Academy, graduating in April 2009.
Early on, he became captivated by storytelling and filmmaking, diving into screenwriting through self-teaching, reading, and workshops. Since 2011, he’s been crafting creative scripts for various advertising studios.
With a burning passion for cinema, Tamer aims to soak up experience and knowledge to share more stories with the world as a film director.
Director’s note
“Last Order” is a poetic exploration of the concept of “judgment” and its undeniable influence on our lives as human beings.
Growing up as an introverted child in a society where judgment is often a default response and attitude, I found myself constantly being judged for my self enclosing behavior, and as I grew older I had to be adopting a similar mindset to navigate the complexities of adulthood. However, I always had many paranoid thoughts constantly questioning the validity of my own assessments, wondering if I truly grasped the complete context of a situation or if my understanding of another person’s personal and mental state was sufficient to render a fair judgment and sometimes thinking about my own reactions if I ever was in their shoes.
These internal conflicts form the heart of my film. How much do my characters know about each other to start judging each other? Do they all see the full picture or do they think they see the full picture?
Weaving in the backdrop of rapidly evolving socioeconomic conditions and the pervasive lack of mental health awareness, “Last Order” aims to provoke viewers into examining their own judgmental tendencies. By raising questions about the extent to which our characters truly understand each other, the film challenges the assumption that we do not always have a complete picture. Ultimately, I hope this film will inspire audiences to cultivate compassion and a greater understanding of mental health, fostering a more empathetic and accepting society.
Karim El Charkawy
Producer
Karim ElCharkawy is an Egyptian writer-director who left law to pursue filmmaking. As a writer, his stories usually revolve around frustrated dreamers. His early work includes a dystopian adult animation project about youth crises and videos documenting Cairo’s underground electronic music scene circa 2022. His documentary “HAMZA” about an Egyptian immigrant living a double life in France screened at Zawya Shorts and Manassat Film Festival in 2024. He directed his first narrative short, “GO GHALBAN!”, on super 8mm film and produced the documentary “EMBERS OF LOVE” funded by 3Sat ZDF and Film university Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. Currently, he’s working on “SANDBAG,” a short film about the resignation day of a dreamer, Youssef, a young depressed employee who struggles to gather the courage to confront his manipulative boss and finally quit.
Producer’s note
I met Tamer at the EFPC and we immediately bonded over our perception of filmmaking in Egypt. He shared the concept of “LAST ORDER,” a story that resonated deeply with me, I immediately visualized the film and I thought that he would make a great visual storyteller. The protagonist, Karim, a neurodivergent young man, is a character I believe Egyptian cinema needs more of. Tamer’s writing is sensitive and avoids stereotypes, capturing Karim’s unique perspective.
Beyond Karim’s personal journey, the film explores themes of masculinity and class conflict. The café setting creates a microcosm of Egyptian society, where tensions are palpable. Tamer’s subtle approach allows the viewer to observe these dynamics through Karim’s eyes, adding a layer of complexity to the narrative. I look forward to help Tamer bring to the screen Karim’s awkward, intensely escalating situation and tell the simple humane story of a misunderstood young man.
Mohamed Mosaad
Cinematographer
Mohamed Mosaad is a seasoned cinematographer with a passion for crafting visually compelling narratives. Graduating with a Bachelor of Scenography from the Faculty of Fine Arts Helwan in 2010, Mohamed Mosaad has honed their skills in the art of cinematography since 2011.
With a background in fine arts, Mohamed Mosaad brings a unique artistic perspective to their work. Their ability to manipulate light and shadow has resulted in visually compelling imagery in numerous short films. These films have garnered recognition at prestigious international film festivals, including the 48 Hour Film Festival (screened at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood) and the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival.
Lamis Souliman
Production Designer
Lamis Souliman is an Egyptian production designer, art director, and research-based video artist. She finished master’s degree in production design, Egypt. That, In addition to her studies for the diploma of New-Media in creative practices from École supérieure d’ art d’ Aix-en-Provence, France.
With French, Regional and Egyptian media experience, Lamis, as a production designer, has been accomplishing diverse projects between features, series, short films and commercial TVCs. She just had her latest series with Netflix launched, and currently she is working on her first TV show.
Cast
Marwan Sabra
(Karim)
Egyptian visual artist. Born in Alexandria in 1991. Graduated from the faculty of fine arts in 2013 and has a master’s degree in oil painting 2019. Currently works as a teaching assistant at the faculty of fine arts in Cairo. The artist is passionate about different fields of arts. Held two solo shows and was part of many collective exhibitions. His work includes painting, illustration, photography, installations and sculpture. Recently has been studying music, singing and acting since 2022.
Mahmoud Sami
Mahmoud Sami, ( born in May 1988), is an egyptian interdisciplinary artist, discovered his passion for the performing arts in 2010, while studying Scenography in Helwan University. Transitioning from campus theater at the well known “Atelier El-Masrah” troupe to professional pursuits, he honed his craft at ElNahda Arts School for Social Theatre “NAS” in 2015. Through Fine arts, acting, movement and clowning, He was inspired to experiment with the art of storytelling through different media. His breakthrough came with the acclaimed Film “Betawqit Elqahera (Cairo Time)” in 2015, followed by notable roles in the sketch comedy show “Al-Plateau” in (2016). Expanding his repertoire across TV and films, Mahmoud remains rooted in his love for theater, which was flourished when he took part in Helm Plastic (A Plastic Dream)” performance,which won the nomination to represent Egypt in the “Arab Theater Festival” in Sharjah 2014, Followed by the participation in CIFET in Cairo 2016. Currently he is part of the “Theatre For Climate Justice” project, which tackles climate change through applied theatre and clowning, Besides his passion for creating comedy videos on social media platforms under the name “samisync”.
Production
Location
Production timeline
1. September 2024 – November 2024: Pre-Production
- Week 1-4: Apply for grants, and approach production houses and cultural institutions.
- Week 3-4: Hire the main crew members to work on the film.
- Week 5-7: Make auditions and finalize the cast
- Week 8-10: Rehearsals and scouting the locations. Working with different crew members on their vision.
- Week 11-12: Complete location scouting. secure permits, and finalize rehearsal schedules.
2. December 2024: Production
- Week 1-2: Technical rehearsals and technical recce.
- Week 3-4: Shooting the film. And beginning initial review of footage
3. January 2025 – February 2025: Post-Production
- Week 1: Hire post-production team, including editors, sound designers, and composers.
- Week 2-6: work on editing, audio post-production, and music composition.
- Week 7-8: Finalize the film.
4. March 2025: Marketing and Distribution
- Week 1-4: Develop promotional materials and online presence and submit the film to selected film festivals.
This timeline provides a structured plan for our stages of the production. Adjustments may be necessary based on specific circumstances, grant timelines, and unforeseen challenges. But we will do our best to stick to our timeline. We can’t wait to see our film on the big screen.
Distribution plan
Our distribution plan aims to capitalize on the film’s social and commercial appeal and create an impact through a combination of film festivals, private screenings a mental health foundations and finally we aim to display it on local and international platforms. We intend to premiere internationally in Toronto International Film Festival 2025 or alternatively in Clermont-Ferrand and in El Gouna Film Festival 2025 and after the film has completed its festivals cycle in local, regional and international festivals, we intend to go through online streaming platforms to reach a wider audience.
phone: +20 115 544 0322
e-mail: tamer.elsahhar@gmail.com