Egypt on Film

Aflam, a new Belgian "festival of Arab cinema," features seven new and recent films about Egypt in Brussels.

Poster of "At Night, They Dance."

If you’re anywhere near Brussels this weekend, a stop at BOZAR, might be worth your time. As part of Aflam, a new Belgian “festival of Arab cinema,” the Center has programmed seven new and recent films about Egypt, with some of the directors attending.

The festival will include three documentaries: At Night, They Dance,  by Isabelle Lavigne and Stéphane Thibault, is a family chronicle about a clan of women in which the profession as a dancer is passed down from mother to daughter; The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni, a documentary by Rania Stephan, recounts the career of the legendary and influential Egyptian actress, “who was to Arab cinema what Umm Kulthum was to Arab song”; and  Omar Shargawi and Karim El Hakim’s 1/2 Revolution tells their version of last year’s revolution through footage filmed while in the middle of it:

And four fiction films: 18 Days is a collection of ten short films, both real and imagined stories, made by ten directors focusing on the revolution;  the 2010 film El-Shouq (‘Desire’ or ‘Longing’) by director Khaled El-Hagar explores the goings-on in an unnamed Alexandrian street and the lives of its inhabitants. The film was nominated to represent Egypt in the Best Foreign Language Film section at this year’s Oscars; and Hesham Issawi’s Cairo Exit tells the story of Amal and Tarek; and Ibrahim El Batout’s Hawi “looks at the idleness, hopes, and disillusion of everyday life in Alexandria as experienced by a range of characters played by non-professional actors.”

Further Reading

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.

From Nkrumah to neoliberalism

On the podcast, we explore: How did Ghana go from Nkrumah’s radical vision to neoliberal entrenchment? Gyekye Tanoh unpacks the forces behind its political stability, deepening inequality, and the fractures shaping its future.

The Visa farce

The South African government’s rush to clear visa applications has led to mass rejections, bureaucratic chaos, and an overloaded appeals system—leaving thousands in limbo.