Screening with short films Rate Me.
El Ott (The Cat) takes viewers from Egypt's deepest south to its northern capital in Cairo. The narrative is told from the perspective of reformed gang leader, the eponymous El Ott (Waked), who turns against the ruthless gangster, Fathi (Al-Hanafy). But when a mysterious character (El-Fishawy) plays both men like pawns in a chess game, their notions of justice, choice and freedom come into question. Examining the seedy and violent underworld of human and organ trade, El Ott’s characters struggle to stake their claims and mark their turfs in world tainted by greed, corruption and the exploitation of innocence. El Ott is a multi-layered story that unfolds much like a mystery, revealing its tangled narrative and cinematic technique as it goes.
Contains adult content
FILMMAKER
Ibrahim El-Batout was born in Port-Said in 1963. From 1987 to 2004, he worked as a documentary director, producer, editor, and cameraman in war zones and made over 29 documentaries for which he won many international awards. After being shot twice, El-Batout decided to leave the trauma of wars behind and returned to Egypt to make independent feature films. He took the Egyptian film industry by storm and challenged censorship by sidestepping the long bureaucratic process for shooting permissions for his first feature, Ithaki (2005). His feature film ‘Ein Shams’ (Eye of the Sun) screening in the 6th TCAFF in 2008 and Winter of Discontent closed Mizna’s 8th festival in 2013.
Rate Me
Director: Fyzal Boulifa
2015 | UK | English | 17 min | Minnesota Premiere
A portrait of a teenage escort, Coco, as told through her online reviews.
FILMMAKER
Fyzal Boulifa was born in 1985 in the UK to Moroccan parents. He is now based between Tangier and London. His short films include “Whore,” selected in over 20 international film festivals; “The Curse,” winner of the Illy Award (Cannes Director’s Fortnight) and nominated for a BAFTA in the Best Short Film Category and selected at Sundance Film Festival in 2012. Pagan Magic will be Boulifa’s debut feature film.
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