Homemade Stories

    حكايا بيتية

    • Nidal Al Dibs
    • Syria, Egypt
    • 2021
    • 69 min
    • World Premiere
    • Envision Competition

    When the revolution in Syria turned into war, Nidal Al Dibs and his family fled to Cairo. There, he started filming his Egyptian friends as they attempt to reopen a long-closed cinema in their impoverished neighborhood. As this endeavor proves to be more and more difficult, Nidal turns to managing renovations of his house back in his troubled homeland.

    All he’s got is a camera and a few home movies, but Al Dibs uses them to point out major issues in the Arab world. For him, film represents hopes and dreams—and that’s a vision borne out by local people in Cairo sharing their cinematic memories. But making a dream come true is another matter entirely.

    Al Dibs uses scenes from everyday life to tell a powerful story. But this film is also about the images he will never get back: footage of his old film club and photos of friends who have disappeared paint a picture of a country that no longer exists, except in the memories of its people.

    Credits

    • 69 min
    • color
    • DCP
    • Spoken languages: Arabic
    • Subtitles in: English
    Director
    Nidal Al Dibs
    Production
    Mostafa Youssef for Seen Films
    Co-production
    Nidal Al Dibs, Plateau 84
    Cinematography
    Mahmoud Lotfy
    Editing
    Micheal Youssef Shafik

    IDFA history

    2021
    World Premiere
    Envision Competition

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    IDFA history

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