“Cairo Graduation Project, Rizk, Photogenic” Film Performance and Public Engagement at Damanhur Opera House

Report: Marwa Al-Soury

The documentary short “Graduation Project in Cairo” by director Mahmoud Al-Khawaja and two feature films “Rizk, Photogenic” by director Sherif Gaber Salem were screened during the Damanhur Film Club event under the supervision of film critics Ahmed El-Nabawy and The National Cinematheque, led by Director of Photography Dr. Hussein Bakr, and the Egyptian Opera House in Damanhur, led by Dr. Lamia Zayed, were hosted by the film critic “Ahmed Aser”. “From Cairo” revolves around a group of young people who decide to record the turning point events in their lives between Cairo and Damanhur, a railway line that separates them, expressing their dreams between the two governorates, especially because these young people were able to present this work, with spontaneity and spontaneity in the film dialogue of the family. In addition, one of the most important dialogues in the work is the idea of ​​the distance experienced by the heroes of the work, Mahmoud and Ahmed. They were able to balance their ideas and ambitions, so they both agreed that Cairo was crowded, full of noise, life and energy, and the most difficult situation that one of them experienced was that Cairo was not close to him. The love of those who left, or those who will leave without saying goodbye, with passion and anticipation, is an important film material to record the most important moments of childhood in the film, which is really special. The credibility of the human feelings of the father, mother and the children who later become young adults, while the events of the film Rizk revolve around a man who works in a palm grove. After falling ill, his daughter tries to help him prove to him that she is the daughter of a hundred men, and this is actually achieved, especially after the son decides to leave and leaves him, and he suffers alone, while in the film. This work is photogenic and shows the idea that a photograph is more real than the human eye, especially because the film uses the camera as a means to reveal the truth, soul and point of view to each other.