Considered one of the most promising artists of independent Egyptian cinema, Tamer El Said spent a month and a half in residence in Marseille. He will present the fruits of this time at the Festival, and, to share his universe even more, will lead a master class on the role of image and sound. Tamer El Said will also present a film he selected with Aflam, Arab Cinemas, to represent the Cairo film scene, as well as his film, The Last Days of a City, a major work of Arab cinema of the last decade, which tells the story of the difficulty of being an artist in a country in suspense.
With the support of the Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation Department of the Southern Region and the support of Goethe-Institut Marseille. Organised as part of the Africa2020 Season, with the support of the French Institute and the Africa2020 Season Patrons Committee.
Aflam and the Festival make their films: a selection echoing the Festival's programme, devised by the Aflam association and the Marseille Festival as part of the Africa2020 Season in conversation with the dancer and choreographer Selma Ouissi and the filmmaker Tamer El Said. Shot before the pandemic imposed confinement on everyone, the films chosen speak of the aspiration to change and the ruptures that follow. They touch on the experience of leaving, of the absence of the other, which virtual communication never manages to fill, and also look back at the uprisings that have been taking place over the last ten years. Founded twenty years ago in Marseille, the Aflam association works to disseminate and promote Arab cinema to all audiences, to discover little-known films, to share views and to open up spaces for discussion.
The Last Days of the City
Tamer El Said
2016 | Germany / Egypt / United Arab Emirates / United Kingdom / France
2009, Khalid films the soul of his city, Cairo, and that of its inhabitants, their faces and their hopes. When the city is ablaze with the beginnings of a revolution, the images become his struggle. The images of Cairo, but also those of Beirut, Baghdad and Berlin, sent to her by her friends. How to find the strength to continue to live the painful beauty of the "last days of a city"?
Practical information
2021 Edition
Duration 118'