Black gold, dirt-poor farmers, and a mayor who'd sell his own mother. Greed's oldest scam.
Based on the story of the literary writer Youssef Al-Qaid, the events of the film revolve around a group of farmers who discover oil on one of them’s land, and the mayor begins to exploit it to his advantage.
Acting
Abdallah Ghaith's weary, simmering desperation
Direction
Hisham Abu Alnasr's patient, documentary-like observation
Director
Hisham abo alnasr
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on Youssef Al-Qaid's story, a cornerstone of 1970s Egyptian social realism that critiqued Sadat-era economic policies.
The 155-minute runtime was controversial; distributors wanted cuts but Abu Alnasr refused, making this a rare complete theatrical preservation of Egyptian arthouse ambition.
EG
