Egypt filmmakers defy taboos

Qumra commences in Doha, focuses on nurturing new talents

CAIRO, March 12, (Agencies): Filmmakers in Egypt are defying a largely conservative society with television series and movies that deal with modern relationships between men and women and the empowerment of the young.

In its heyday between the 1950s and the 1970s, Egypt had one of the largest and most dynamic movie industries in the world.

The golden age of Egyptian cinema starred fiery, determined women and love scenes that rivalled those of Western movies at the time.

“Things started to change in the 1980s” as social freedoms regressed and society grew more puritanical, leading Arab film critic Tarek El Shenawi told AFP.

Under the growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood group and Arab Gulf countries, conservatism expanded steadily in Egyptian society during the time.

Braving criticism from conservatives, young directors are now becoming more daring in their work.

Such productions often stir controversy, but they still attract millions of viewers online.

In the film “Balash Tebosni” (Kiss Me Not), young director Ahmed Amer makes fun of the taboo on passionate kisses in contemporary Egyptian cinema.

“Comedy makes the people a bit more open to the theme,” Amer told AFP.

In the “adults only” movie, Amer tries to shoot a kissing scene but the actress refuses to comply, stressing that she wants to become a more devout Muslim.

The “film within a film” satirises the dogged resistance of his starlet in what has become an increasingly puritanical society.

Yasmin Raeis, who plays the actress, said she remembers how such scenes used to be “totally normal” in Egyptian movies she watched as a child.

“Then as I got older, suddenly people started saying that this shouldn’t happen” in movies anymore, she said.

Raeis said she could not understand the taboo on kissing when audiences stream to watch thrillers and action movies packed with scenes of violence.

“That’s what’s strange. We should be condemning violence, not romance,” she said.

The idea for Balash Tebosni originated in a short film which Amer had tried but failed to complete in real life because the leading actress was disgusted by the idea of an onscreen kiss. Family comedies have also become a hit. Watched by millions on YouTube, “Sabaa Gar” (Seventh Neighbour), a series which airs on the private CBC Entertainment channel, has faced a storm of accusations that it corrupts Egypt’s youth.

business against the odds. The last line of his speech, which he never got to read during the confusion of Oscars night, still brought tears to his eyes. (RTRS)

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prosecutor

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In the view of Christopher Darden,

O.J. Simpson confesses to the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in his 2006 TV interview that aired Sunday night as a two-hour special on Fox, 12 years after a public outcry forced the network to scrap an earlier plan to air the incendiary footage.

A single woman living alone and seeing men out of wedlock, or another who smokes in secret, Sabaa Gar shows the young demanding control over their own lives.

This contrasts with the stricter social norms that the older generation still holds on to and highlights the generation gap in Egyptian society.

The goal was not to spur controversy, said Heba Yousry, one of the series’ three all-female co-directors.

Sabaa Gar has “allowed people to understand each other and to learn about how the new generation thinks”, she said.

Among the story lines is one of a young woman who wants to have a child, but does not want to share her life with a man.

She agrees with a work colleague to get married for the sole purpose of having a baby, and then to get divorced.

A similar theme was the subject of hit comedy “Bashtery Ragel” (I’m Buying a Man), released in Egyptian cinemas in February 2017 on Valentine’s Day.

At the same time, however, many Egyptian actresses refuse to be filmed in kissing scenes or to play roles that could be regarded as immoral. Some have even quit the industry for religious reasons. Egyptian authorities under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in power since 2013, have clamped down on activities deemed immoral.

In the latest case, Egypt last month banned the Arabic version of US television’s “Saturday Night Live” for use of “sexual expressions, phrases and gestures... which violate ethical and professional standards”.

The fourth edition of Qumra, the annual industry event by the Doha Film Institute, has commenced in Qatar, bringing together more than 150 acclaimed filmmakers, industry professionals and experts to nurture 34 films - the Qumra Projects - by first and second-time filmmakers from 25 countries that are in various stages of development. The six-day event is held at Souq Waqif and the Museum of Islamic Art.

Fatma Al Remaihi, Chief Executive Officer of the Doha Film Institute, said: “Qumra is founded upon a commitment to the mentorship and creative development of emerging filmmakers from across the world. As in earlier editions, the Qumra Projects by young filmmakers present compelling stories that need to be heard, especially at a time when film and story-telling are used to distort reality and negatively impact the world. We believe that while films are a source of entertainment, they are also a powerful tool to build empathy and bring people together. That further underlines the need to support new voices in cinema, as storytelling is both an artform and a growing responsibility. If we do not tell our stories, others will, in a manner that suits them.”

In the 2006 interview with publisher Judith Regan, Simpson goes through a “purely hypothetical” discussion of what happened on the night his ex-wife and Goldman were murdered on the steps of Nicole Simpson’s Brentwood condo. Simpson was acquitted of the double murders by a jury LONDON, March 12, (AFP): British comedian Ken Dodd, a legendary variety performer known for his unruly hair and buck teeth, has died at the age of 90, his publicist said Monday.

Dodd, from Liverpool in northwest England, won millions of fans with his epic stand-up shows filled with jokes, in which he brandished his trademark colourful “tickling sticks”. He made his first professional appearance in 1954 and a decade later made his debut in London’s West End, where he staged a record-breaking 42-week show at the London Palladium.

in 1995 after an 11-month trial that set the modern template for a media circus. (RTRS)

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Korean thriller, “The Vanished” debuted on top of the South Korean box office. Opening on Wednesday (March 7), the remake of Spain’s “The Body” earned $5.09 million from 654,000 admissions over five days. The story involves a corpse which disappears from a morgue before a scheduled autopsy.

Opening one day later, “Tomb Raider” took second place. The Warner Bros release earned $2.99 million in four days.

Korean titles, “Little Forest” and “The Princess and the Matchmaker” slipped to third and fourth, respectively. “Little Forest” earned $2.07 million between Friday and Sunday for a total of $8.36 million after two weekends on release. Incurring a drop of 68%, “Matchmaker” earned $1.22 million between Friday and Sunday for a two-weekend total of $9.35 million. With a weekon-week drop of 73%, Disney’s “Black Panther” earned $561,000 for a total of $42.6 million after four weekends. Fox’s “The Shape of Water” earned $457,000, extending its total to $3.36 million after three weekends. (RTRS)