The lives of residents in an old Cairo building, "The Yacoubian Building," are affected by issues like corruption, extremism, class disparity, and sexuality. Through diverse characters, the film offers a critical examination of Egyptian society.
Acting
Adel Emam's decaying aristocrat is devastatingly pathetic.
Production
The actual Yacoubian Building: character, witness, tomb.
Writing
Alaa Al Aswany's novel adapted with scandalous fidelity.
Director
Marwan Hamed
Adel Emam
Zaki El Dessouki
Nour El-Sherif
Hajj Muhammad Azzam
Hend Sabry
Bothayna El Sayed
Mohamed Emam
Taha El Shazly
Esaad Younes
Dawlat El Dessouki
Khaled El Sawy
Hatem Rashed
Yousra
Christine
Ahmad Rateb
Fanous
Ahmad Bedir
Malek
Somaya El Khashab
Soad
Khaled Saleh
Kamal el Fouly
Bassem Samra
Abd Raboh
Youssef Daoud
Fekry Abdel Shaheed
Talaat Zakaria
Bar Owner
Gihan Kamary
Ragaa
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Yacoubian Building still stands in downtown Cairo, its Art Deco bones now housing electronics shops—a physical metaphor the film exploits ruthlessly.
Hend Sabry's performance as Bothayna was so controversial that she received death threats; the film's frank sexuality caused uproar across the Arab world.
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