Hawi
Fall Grant 2010 - Post-Production Stage
Ibrahim El Batout / Feature Narrative / Egypt, Qatar / 2010 / 112 min / Colour / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Drama, Social Issues
Synopsis
Shot in Alexandria using non-professional actors and a volunteer crew, Ibrahim El Batout’s third feature continues the Egyptian filmmaker’s obsession in contemplating the details of daily Egyptian life. Inspired by the alternative cinema of Jean-Luc Godard, Dziga Vertov and Abbas Kiarostami, the story follows the journey of Youssef, a prisoner released after five years of solitary confinement in order to fetch a sheath of important documents, with a number of seemingly unconnected subplots, concerning a group of aspiring songwriters, a satellite TV executive searching for a show host, an elderly juggler leading his sickly old horse though the city streets, and so on. As a result, what might have been a straight-ahead story with predictable scenes, becomes an organic study of a city populated by disparate, often desperate, characters; a closer view of so-called reality and the lives of everyday people.
Credits
- Director
- Ibrahim El Batout
- Screenwriter
- Ibrahim El Batout
- Producer
- Ibrahim El Batout
About the Director
Ibrahim El Batout was born in Port-Said, Egypt and graduated from the American University in Cairo, majoring in physics. Since 1987, he has worked as a director, producer and cameraman, debuting as a feature film director with ‘Ithaki’ (2005). His second film, ‘Eye of the Sun’ (2008), won the Golden Bull at the Taormina Film Festival.
Awards and Festival History
Festivals
IFF Rotterdam 2010, Spectrum
Taormina IFF 2011
Best Arab Film Award, Doha Tribeca FF 2011, Arab Feature Film (WP)
Contacts
-
Main Contact
Hossam Elouan
- Company:
- Transit Films International
- Phone:
- +201060528732
- Email:
- hossamelouan@gmail.com