Feature Narrative
TOTAL BUDGET
US $540,000
CONTACT
daydream.artproduction@gmail.com
When he lost his lover and his path he started his journey towards himself.
On a rainy, stormy night, the city loses its glamour while the protagonist loses himself in its streets, searching for his lover who has just abandoned him. As he wanders, he finds traces of her in everything that once united them: streets; photographs; even the smell of coffee.
She is looking for him as well, but she has decided to depart in order to remain with him and inside him for eternity. She has left to the furthest end, leaving him only a souvenir near the sacred tree of lovers.
Throughout his tireless search, the city opens up its secrets to him, allowing him to confront reflections of his soul in other people who have lost their loved ones and are stuck in this world just like him, awaiting salvation.
When he loses his beloved and his path, the protagonist begins a new journey that leads him in the end to face his psyche, which he had been seeking and escaping all at once. Only then does the fog lift off the city, and do the butterflies come out of their cocoons. From the innermost endings, new beginnings flourish.
This film is about love as an act of resistance; its characters seek love as salvation from the crisis of existing in this world. The film narrates ending love stories for new romances to begin; the cruel transformations that characters undergo liberate them from the fears that chain them, powerfully pushing them to confront their destinies.
Endings make room for new beginnings: the heroine’s departure leads the hero to a journey where he confronts his fears and finds himself; the killing of the homeless child›s only companion leads him to find another one.
The art I wish to produce narrates stories that elicit worry. In our society, if a woman loves a man, she is to commit to him for life; it isn’t acceptable for a married man in his sixties to seek new love; nor is it expected of homeless children to rebel against their atrocious living conditions, ignored by all. These are the stories I wish to recount. The aim underlying my art is to question mainstream thoughts and values and to find
Mohamed Samir graduated from Egypt’s Higher Cinema Institute with a B.A. in Film Editing in 2002. He worked as a film editor for many years and in 2007 founded DayDream Art Production as a post-production company, before starting his own career as a producer in 2010. He also taught in the Cairo Jesuit Cinema School from 2008 till 2011, conducting many focused workshops in film editing and in production. In 2014, he was appointed by late acclaimed Egyptian film critic Samir Farid to be the Artistic Director of the 36th edition of the Cairo International Film Festival. Samir has also been part of several international learning experiences that have helped further his understanding of the needs of the Egyptian independent film industry, including the EuroMed Audio Visual program in 2013. He is also an alumnus of the 2012 Berlinale Talents and a fellow of FILM INDEPENDENT in Los Angeles.
Samir’s main focus as a producer is first and second time filmmaker projects, as well as collaborating with directors who have a different approach to cinema from what is common in the commercial film industry.
DayDream Art Production is a Cairo-based production entity operating in the Middle Eastern market and focusing on producing art house and auteur films.
Founded in 2007 by experienced film editor Mohamed Samir, DayDream was initially created as a production and post-production house to facilitate the expanding scope of his projects and to develop a community of professionals who share his filmmaking ideals.
DayDream’s first feature film production was veteran Egyptian director Mohamed Khan’s Factory Girl (2013), which was met with remarkable regional success upon its release. Currently, DayDream focuses on producing films that have a special narrative and visual approach, mainly by first or second time filmmakers. DayDream aims to support artists working in the audiovisual sector in general, and is known to be a solid backer of many kinds of cultural events. In 2012 and 2013, DayDream coproduced two independent theatre plays, in addition to producing five short films. DayDream also sponsored many film events, such as the 48 Hours Film Competition and the Panorama of the European Film.