International Premiere
Cairo Exit
World Narrative Competition
| Egypt, United Arab Emirates
| 96 MINUTES
| Arabic
Drama
Yearning to be as free as she feels when motorbiking the dusty back streets of Cairo with her Muslim boyfriend Tarek, 18-year-old Amal is torn between absconding to Italy illegally by boat with her beloved, or staying in Egypt with her Coptic Orthodox Christian family. Amal cannot bear to consider the future she faces as a poor woman in Egypt, reflected in the lives of her sister and best friend: one makes grave sacrifices so her son can have a better life, while the other prepares for a surgery to feign her virginity so she can enter into a loveless marriage to an older, wealthy foreigner. But even as Amal actively seeks out opportunities for self-sufficiency, it is ultimately fate that will determine her path.
Director Hesham Issawi's sophomore effort, co-written with Amal Afify, offers a rare, insider portrait of Cairo's working people from the perspectives of four young women struggling to carve out a better future.
Cast & Credits
Directed by
Hesham Issawi
HESHAM ISSAWI was born in Egypt and raised in a devoutly intellectual Egyptian family. He moved to America in 1990 to study anthropology but changed his major from anthropology to art and photography. He graduated from Columbia College Chicago and directed the award-winning short films The Interrogation and T For Terrorist and the feature AmericanEast.
Screenwriter
Hesham Issawi, Amal Afify
Primary Cast
Mohamed Ramadan, Maryhan, Sana Mouziane, Saffa Galal, Ahmed Bidder
Director of Photography
Patrik Thelander
Contacts
Sales Contact
Brian Cox
Distant Horizon Films
Los Angeles,
CA
90290
Phone: 310.455.0759
bcoxdh@gmail.com
* Rush Tickets available at venue except for
Beacon Theatre
Rush will be offered when advanced tickets for a screening or event are no longer available at venues
other than Beacon Theatre.
The Rush system functions as a standby line that will form at the venue approximately one hour prior to scheduled start time. Admittance is based on availability and will begin roughly 10 minutes prior to program start time. Rush Tickets are the same price as advance tickets and are payable upon entry.
Co-hosted by
