In one of her earliest and most poignant works, veteran documentarian Ateyyat El Abnoudy captures the dignity of Cairo's poor. In this beautifully photographed document the primitive process of brick making is examined, revealing the monotonous choreography of a nonetheless meaningful social task. The sad dance of their fluid movements intermingled with personal stories deeply resonates.

Video includes two other shorts: Sad Song of Touha and The Sandwich.


1971, Egypt, Documentary, 12mins, Black & White

Dir.: Atteyat al Abnoudi

This revelation of a film, made for a pittance by the Film Association of Cairo, surprised audiences with its new tone, and its engaged social view inaugurated a new era for Arab documentary film. This change was due entirely to a woman who had just made her first film; for if the documentary film tradition had been part of different Arab societies since Egypt in the 1920s, earlier films often had the well-defined functions of informing, educating and sometimes ideologizing spectators.
Magda Wassef
www.yidff.jp/docbox/16/box16-3-e.html

Type:
Short Film

Director:
Ateyyat El Abnoudy

Year:
1971

Time:
12 minutes

Language:
Arabic with English Subtitles

Production: Film Association of Cairo

Rental Information
This film is available from AFD on 16mm and video for public screenings and television broadcast. For information regarding rental rates and formats, please contact institutions@arabfilm.com for institutional/non-theatrical screenings, or festivals@arabfilm.com for theatrical, festival, television, or other bookings.

FESTIVALS
Winner: Grand Prix - FIPRESCI at Grenoble, France
Winner: Manheim Film Festival, germany
Winner: Damascus Film Festival, Syria