Egyptian Cinema: An Accurate Portrait Of Cairo

Egyptian film critic Joseph Fahim writes about the film 'EXT. Night'. It is the latest by “Egyptian indie whizz” Ahmad Abdalla and premiered this week at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In this largely nocturnal journey, Abdalla has produced the most accurate portrait of Cairo after the 30 June 2013 mass protests against Hosni Mubarak’s elected successor, Mohamed Morsi.

Three-quarters of all Arab movies are produced in the North African country. The 1940s, 1950s and the 1960s are especially considered to be the golden age of Egyptian cinema. While most of the current Egyptian films are, in my opinion, boring comedies without a good story and full of sexist jokes, 'EXT. Night' seems an example of a high-quality film that gives you a good impression of the current situation in the country.

Scripted by Sherif Alfy, Cairo is an oppressive cityscape where members of each class are forced to adhere to their tribe, women are continuously treated as sex objects, and the rich seclude themselves in a sheltered bubble in order to survive the ugly reality of a nation on life support.

The three characters spend most of the time in a small car. “The sense of claustrophobia is not merely a reaction to their position inside this space – it’s an extension of their inner claustrophobia,” Abdalla said. “Everyone is trapped in their own external and internal worlds – in their own fears.”

The tireless longing for escaping Egypt can be traced in most of Abdalla’s films, and 'EXT. Night' is no different.

Abdalla’s new film contains its fair share of contentious material, including, most notably, an extended sequence in a police station where one of the actors tells a young police officer that “the entire country is now in your cells”.

I look forward to watching this movie.