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Yomeddine

( 2018 )
Feature Narrative Competition |
 
Egypt
 |
 Arabic |
 97 min

About the film

Beshay, an Egyptian cured of leprosy, decides to leave the leper colony and embarks on a journey with his apprentice Obama, to find out why his father never kept his promise to return. Yomeddine was selected for the Official Competition at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the François Chalais Prize.

Director

Abu Bakr Shawky

A.B. Shawky is an Egyptian-Austrian filmmaker born in Cairo in 1985. His short films “THE COLONY”, “THINGS I HEARD ON WEDNESDAYS” and “MARTYR FRIDAY” have screened at festivals around the world. He studied Political Science and Filmmaking in Cairo, and is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts Grad Film Program. YOMEDDINE is his first feature.

Producer

Dina Emam , Mohamed Hefzy , Mohamed Sakr 

Production Company

Desert Highway Pictures, Film Clinic

Screenplay

A.B. Shawky

Cinematography

Federico Cesca

Editing

Erin Greenwell

Sound

Sherif Zein

Cast

Rady Gamal, Ahmed Abdelhafiz, Osama Abdallah, Sayed Batawi, Adel Bomba, Mohamed Abdelazim, Shehab Ibrahim, Yasser Ayouti, Galal El Ashry

Contacts

Producer

Dina Emam , Mohamed Hefzy , Mohamed Sakr 

Production Company

Desert Highway Pictures, Film Clinic

Screenplay

A.B. Shawky

Cinematography

Federico Cesca

Editing

Erin Greenwell

Sound

Sherif Zein

Cast

Rady Gamal, Ahmed Abdelhafiz, Osama Abdallah, Sayed Batawi, Adel Bomba, Mohamed Abdelazim, Shehab Ibrahim, Yasser Ayouti, Galal El Ashry

Contacts

More About Film

BESHAY, an Egyptian cured of leprosy but not the scars, lives in an aging leper colony in the middle of nowhere among a handful of unfortunates forgotten by the outside world. He has built a comfortable life for himself selling reusable garbage. After the death of wife, he decides to leave the colony for the first time since he was abandoned there as a child, and embarks on a journey across Egypt in search for his hometown to find out why his father never kept his promise to return. Alongside his apprentice, a Nubian orphan nicknamed OBAMA, and his donkey HARBY, they travel through the labyrinth of Egypt for the first time in their lives. Their strong sense of self and naivety are a pleasant contrast to the ills of the outside world, but they are also reminded that sometimes the world isn’t as dark as one would think. When they reach their destination, Beshay and Obama’s newly formed understanding of home, family and humanity is put to the test.

Producer

Dina Emam , Mohamed Hefzy , Mohamed Sakr 

Production Company

Desert Highway Pictures, Film Clinic

Screenplay

A.B. Shawky

Cinematography

Federico Cesca

Editing

Erin Greenwell

Sound

Sherif Zein

Cast

Rady Gamal, Ahmed Abdelhafiz, Osama Abdallah, Sayed Batawi, Adel Bomba, Mohamed Abdelazim, Shehab Ibrahim, Yasser Ayouti, Galal El Ashry

More About Film

BESHAY, an Egyptian cured of leprosy but not the scars, lives in an aging leper colony in the middle of nowhere among a handful of unfortunates forgotten by the outside world. He has built a comfortable life for himself selling reusable garbage. After the death of wife, he decides to leave the colony for the first time since he was abandoned there as a child, and embarks on a journey across Egypt in search for his hometown to find out why his father never kept his promise to return. Alongside his apprentice, a Nubian orphan nicknamed OBAMA, and his donkey HARBY, they travel through the labyrinth of Egypt for the first time in their lives. Their strong sense of self and naivety are a pleasant contrast to the ills of the outside world, but they are also reminded that sometimes the world isn't as dark as one would think. When they reach their destination, Beshay and Obama’s newly formed understanding of home, family and humanity is put to the test.