Hawi
By: Ibrahim El-Batout
(Eqypt/Qatar, 2010, 112 min)
Screens: Friday, November 11th, 7:00 pm
Synopsis:
Shot in Alexandria using amateur actors and crew , Ibrahim El Batout’s third feature Hawi (meaning “magician” or “juggler” in Arabic) carries on the Egyptian filmmaker’s passion for revealing the details of daily life in Egypt.
This story follows Youssef, a prisoner released after five years of solitary confinement in order to fetch a sheath of important documents. Seemingly unconnected subplots, including a group of aspiring songwriters, a satellite TV executive searching for a show host, and an elderly juggler leading his sickly horse through the city streets tell the story of a city populated by disparate and often desperate characters. These intimate portraits offer a closer view of so-called reality and the lives of everyday people.
Director's Bio:
Ibrahim El-Batout was born in Port Said, Egypt. In 1985, he graduated from the American University in Cairo. He has worked as a director, producer and cameraman, capturing stories mainly about human loss, suffering, and displacement since 1987, and has also directed numerous documentaries for international television channels, such as ZDF (Germany), TBS (Japan) and ARTE (France). His second feature film Ein Shams (Eye of the Sun) (2008) won the Golden Bull, the top prize at the 54th Taormina Film Festival, 2008.
