In the fight for the attack, Egyptian director Omar al-Zuhairi, after his first cinematic experience, was able to win the Grand Prix of Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival.
At the El Ghouna Film Festival, al-Zuhairi waited to celebrate what he had achieved in the first scene of the film. “Feathers” Inside the Arab world, but as usual, the wind comes with what ships don’t like.
The young director found himself surrounded by accusations that his film was an insult to Egypt’s reputation, and he was called upon to clarify and explain what happened on Monday afternoon.
When the Egyptian director was at a press conference to attend the El Ghouna ceremony, Al Arabia.net met with him at a special meeting to fully clarify the truth.
From the movie “Feathers”
Tensions dominated at the start of the press conference, and the first question arose about producer Shahinas al-Aqqad’s participation in the production of the film.
The producer took the word quickly before the director could respond and confirmed that the film was not popular. Al-Zuhairi then confirmed that he was asked what happened after the film was shown, but as a director he revealed his cinematic point of view through his film, each director presents the cinema he believes in through his works.
He considered that he and his generation of filmmakers would present different works, so conflict is natural, but as a director he should only present the film, in terms of reactions, they are always unexpected.
And the producer calmed down and returned, making sure the film had nothing to do with Egypt, where the director created his own society, and there was no political line within the work.
The film was made over many years and filming was completed in 5 weeks, and the director selected the heroes who had not yet participated in the cast and relied on their nature in the circumstances in which they were placed.
“Time is the best judge for films.” That sentence was chosen by director Al-Zuhairi and sent by the best director Dawood Abdel Saeed, confirming that the passage of time will determine the experience with success or failure. He is not the first director and not the last person to create a chaotic atmosphere in the artwork.
Despite the uproar, al-Zuhairi expressed his delight by various reactions, such as welcome or rejection, because he considered them to be a positive thing.
The director cited Arab criticism before going abroad and said that it came in the interest of the film, emphasizing that this work was for the benefit of his generation who dreamed of a different cinema.
The director pointed out the need to break the barrier at the outset and deliver different works, with a view to delivering a film that achieves a difficult equation and at the same time satisfies critics and audiences.
The director revealed that the film will be released commercially before next December, eventually pointing out that he is very happy with the situation caused by the audience-owned film.
Al-Zuhairi said he did not expect to be interested in his cinema, especially since he was experimenting, but was surprised by that interest considering he was a person looking for honesty.
Regarding his choice of non-cast heroes in the first place, al-Zuhairi explained that he chose the one that suited his cinematic world.
“Coffee evangelist. Alcohol fanatic. Hardcore creator. Infuriatingly humble zombie ninja. Writer. Introvert. Music fanatic.”
