East of Noon, the second feature film written and directed by Elkoussy, explores the political potential of poetic cinema.
The plot follows the story of the musician Abdo, who, together with his partner Nunna, dreams of a new life beyond their shared home city.
"East of Noon functions as a satirical parable, with Elkoussy formulating an unambiguous critique of prevailing gender and power relations, both inside and outside Egyptian society," according to the film's synopsis.
The director "uses black-and-white analogue photographs to invoke elements of film history, such as Fellini and Godard, and to connect these with the consciousness of today.
Elkoussy's dreamlike encounter with concrete violence ultimately reveals only one way out: "an outbreak, an upheaval, or a revolution."
East of Noon stars Ahmed Kamal, Menha Batraoui, and Omar Rozek.
The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the Director’s Fortnight segment.
Then, it screened at almost 10 other festivals, including the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Brazil Arab Film Festival, and Films Femmes Méditerranée (FFM) in Marseille.
The Berlin Critics' Week will take place between 13 and 20 February. So far, a total of eight films have been announced to participate in this competitive segment of the festival.
The selection for 2025’s festival was curated by Călin Boto and Hamed Soleimanzadeh, the commission member Lucía Salas, and Petra Palmer and Dennis Vetter from the artistic directors’ collective of Berlin Critics’ Week.
The festival also revealed many films to be screened in Berlinale's 75th edition.
Egyptian film The Tale of Daye’s Family by Karim El-Shenawy also made it to the screening list. The film will be presented within the Berlinale's Generation segment.
The Berlin International Film Festival has been running since 1951.

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