A young, free-spirited dancer and student of Arabic poetry falls in love with her thesis supervisor while trapped in a relationship with a man who disapproves of her dancing.
Acting
Hanan Turk's body becomes the entire argument
Direction
Saab films Cairo like a lover who knows its contradictions
Writing
Poetry that actually sounds like desire, not homework
Director
Jocelyne Saab
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Saab filmed during Mubarak-era censorship battles; the film's very existence was political.
Mohamed Mounir, playing the poetry professor, is Egypt's most beloved singer—casting him as intellectual seducer was deliberate subversion of his populist image.
EG
