East of Noon
Spring Grants 2023 - Post-Production Stage
Hala Elkoussy / Feature Narrative / Netherlands, Egypt, Qatar / 105 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Drama
Synopsis
East of Noon is a satire on the inner workings of an ailing autocracy and its inherent vulnerability to youth’s unchained vision of a better world. The story unfolds in two spaces: SHARQ12, a sandy enclave situated in an industrial ruin; and the Sea, a fluid landscape and simultaneously a longed for state of freedom. How do you imagine the sea when you have never seen it?
The characters embody a core personal question: How is hope kept alive in a grim reality? They struggle with fear in quest for a freedom that is instinctive, but ill-defined, with a hovering dilemma: can one stay clean in a dirty world? It is the young artist Abdo who most longs for freedom. His music is his saviour. The stories of his grandmother Jalala provide further relief from the hopeless reality, but also perpetuate the status quo, reflecting the complex relationship of art to authority.
Credits
- Director
- Hala Elkoussy
- Screenwriter
- Hala Elkoussy
- Producer
- Hala Elkoussy (Nu'ta Film), Lonnie van Brummelen (VRIZA), Marc Thelosen (seriousFilm)
- Production Company
- Nu'ta Film, VRIZA, seriousFilm
About the Director
Hala Elkoussy is a visual artist who works across a variety of media, including photography, video, installation, and sculpture. Elkoussy has produced several short films that were screened in exhibitions and film festivals around the world. Her artwork features in the collections of Tate Modern and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, among others. 'Cactus Flower', her first feature film, premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. It received the Best Actress Award at the Dubai International Film Festival and Special Jury Award at Aswan International Women’s Film Festival. In 2020 she won De Verbeelding Grant in the Netherlands to realize 'East of Noon'.