Omar El Shamy
France | 2011 | 12 min
Language : Arabic
Subtitle : French
Two street children in Cairo. Stationed in front of McDonald’s, Karim – a real case! – earns a crust or two by parking cars, with his mate. From his spontaneous dialogue with these marginalized but lively young people, the filmmaker paints a telling portrait of life in Egypt, a world removed from Tahrir Square. A striking counterpoint to the flood of images and talk about the Arab revolution.
Two “ragazzi di vita” in the streets of Cairo. Stationed in front of McDonald’s, Karim – a real case! – and his faithful sidekick, Nadar, earn a crust helping people park their cars. While they eat a frugal meal on a car bonnet, the camera peers over their shoulder at young people of a very different kind dining in the American fast-food outlet: separated by a plate-glass window, they are worlds apart. “Hand in hand, we will build the new Egypt”, proclaim the UNICEF T-shirts sported by Karim and Nadar. Tahrir Square may be only a stone’s-throw away, but for these two lads on the margins of society – and history – this is where it all happens. “If I’d done the revolution, I’d have done some thieving!”, as Karin crudely puts it. In this film which grapples with Egyptian reality, the uprising is symbolically off camera! Engaging in spontaneous dialogue with these cocky, streetwise kids, in a few incisive shots the filmmaker delivers a striking counterpoint to the flood of images and talk about the Arab revolution
Alessia Bottani
Translation BMP Translations