Radwan El-Kashef – Egypt – 1999

‘Arack El Balah’ begins with a man approaching an abandoned fort in a dusty region of southern Egypt. He is greeted by an elderly woman who tells the tale of the deserted village: A convoy of masked bikers arrived one day, promising lives of luxury, the menfolk abandon the village to investigate the greener – grass on the proverbial ‘other side’. The womenfolk, those too old and those too young are left behind and as the years pass, only letters return, telling tales of loneliness and hard times.

A young man Ahmed grows up under these surroundings and has to deal with being the man in charge. When several of the migrant workers return, frustrated by their failures in the outside world, everyone has to come to terms with the irreversible change in the community. ‘Arack El Balah’ draws a symbolic parrallel with the mass emigration of Egyptians to the Gulf during the ‘70s. With his focus on the countryside, the forgotten South and the issues of migration, Radwan El Kashef’s film is an exception in Egyptian cinema.

With: Sherihan, Abla Kamel, Hamdi Ahmed, Mohamed Nagati

Duration: 110 minutes

Language: Arabic (English subtitles)