A number of new films will be released across Egypt's cinemas during the mid-year school holiday season, to begin in the second half of January.
First on the list is Kedbet Kol Youm (A Lie For Every Day), starring Amr Youssef, Dorra, Shereen Reda, Dina El-Sherbini, Mohamed Mamdouh, Karim Kassem and Abeer Hariri.
Directed by Khaled El-Halafawy and based on a script co-written by Hesham Mansour and Sherif El-Alfy, the film also includes guest stars Farouk Al-Fishawy, Bayoumi Fouad, Tarek El-Telmissany and Salwa Khattab.
The film will be released in Egyptian theatres on 20 January, the producers revealed. The film's official trailer was released on 13 January.
Kedbet Kol Youm looks into the every-day life of a married couple, asking fundamental questions about the secret to the survival of a marriage over many years.
Khaled El-Halafawy's previous major works as director include comedy Zanqat Sittat (2015) and a TV series Second Chance (2014). He was also an assistant director on Waleed Mahmoud's 2008 comedy Shebh Monharef.
Actress Laila Elwy at the opening of the 36th Cairo International Film Festival (Photo: Nader Osama)
Iconic Egyptian director Mohamed Khan’s Abl Zahmet El-Saif (Before the Summer Crowds) is also expected to be released within days.
The film stars Maged El-Kedwany, Hana Shiha, and Ahmed Dawood.
It is a drama and romance set at a resort by the sea. It follows an estranged couple and their neighbour whose holiday plans do not go quite as expected. The film was one of five films competing for the Muhr Feature Awards at Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) last month, where it had its premiere.
Actress Ghada Abdelrazek (Photo: Al Ahram)
Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah’s film Al-Maa Wal Khodra Wal Wagh Al-Hassan will also be released as part of the mid-year season. The film stars Layla Elwi, Menna Shalabi, Bassem Samra, Mohamed Farrag, Ahmed Dawoud, Inaam Saloussa, Sabreen and Alaa Zienhom.
In a recent statement to Al-Ahram, Nasrallah explained that the film narrates the story of Egyptian actor Bassem Samra’s family, whose members work as wedding caterers.
Nasrallah saw that the countless particulars of this family's story could be employed in a film project, and decided to collaborate with Samra and turn this real-life story into a film. The film’s idea had developed as early as 1995, but was delayed because “Bassem and I held some work sessions since then, but were interrupted as we developed new ideas for other films like Al-Madina, Genenet Al-Asmak, and most recently Baad El-Mawkea,” Nasrallah explained.
The film focuses on the life of cooks from the countryside who work at wedding receptions. It narrates the comic encounters they experience with their families and relatives, and it also sheds the light on the lives of cooks residing in the Gulf area, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
It seeks to reveal how this group’s members deal with one other, the sufferings they encounter at times, and the situations they experience during their presence in wedding receptions across different social classes. The film was co-written by Ahmad Abdalla and Nasrallah, and produced by Ahmed El-Sobky.
(Photo: still from Before The Summer Crowds)
For her part, Egyptian actress Ghada Abdelrazek returns to the silver screen after a two-year hiatus with her film Eli Ekhtasho Mato (Those who fear are dead).
The film will be released next month, and discusses the problems and grievances faced by Egyptian women in society. It does so by focusing on the stories of seven women who are close friends. In their meetings, they discuss their problems and stories, and are on a constant quest to fetch happiness.
The films stars Marwa, Abir Sabry, Salwa Khattab, Marwa Abd El-Monem, Hedy Karam, Ahmed Safwat, Mohamed Mahmoud Abd El-Aziz and Ihab Fahmy. The film is written by Mohamed Abd El-Khalek, and directed by Ismail Farouk.
(Photo: still from film Kedbet Kol Youm's trailer)
The ongoing season of new cinema releases had started early this year, beginning with the release of Daoud Abdel-Sayed's Qudrat Ghayr Adiya (Out of the Ordinary) and followed by Sameh Abd El Aziz’s El-Leila El-Kebira (The Big Night), and Karim El-Sobky’s Men Dahr Ragel (Born to a Man)
Both films had their premieres at the Cairo International Film Festival in November.
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