Feature Narrative Competition | Egypt | Arabic | 90 min
Where do you see yourself in five years? A traditional question Mahmoud is asked in a job interview, only to open up deeper questions within him about his life’s purpose.
A former manual worker in a printing press whose job had been rendered invalid due to the growing use of computers, Mahmoud is at a point in his life where he can totally relate to dinosaurs who had gone extinct. He leads a routine life that revolves around the photocopy joint he owns, his pension, always late, and his neighbours and customers who, like him, are warm and affectionate. Nothing clouds this pretty picture except for the greedy landlord, who harbours no compassion for Mahmoud’s financial difficulties, and is constantly nagging him about being late to pay his rent.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud grapples with developing feelings for his neighbour, Safeya, who in turn grapples with loneliness. Their budding romance hits many roadblocks, from their advancing years, to Safeya’s son’s disapproval 3of the relationship, to Safeya’s own troubled feelings towards her femininity after undergoing a mastectomy.
In its sensitive portrayal of the trials and tribulations of its characters, the film bears hints of Frank Capra masterpieces such as It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) and Pocketful of Miracles (1961), even in its caricaturish villain. We enter the world of these lonely characters, the features of whose existence are slowly heading towards extinction, and with them we come to realize that one cannot face the danger of extinction alone; but only through binding with fellow humans in the face of this metaphorical ice age that threatens to wipe out humanity even if humans remain.
Tamer Ashry screenwriter and cinematographer, and he is also the founder and CEO of BEE Media Productions. He has participated in the production of Nawara, which won the Best Actress award at the 2015 Dubai International Film Festival, and was assistant director on Marwan Hamed’s The Blue Elephant, which topped the Egyptian box office that same year. Ashry’s work, including documentaries In the Morgue, Pictures from Gaza, and Trials of Spring, was featured in a number of international film festivals.
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