Murad has managed to take his first international steps, having secured a spot in the Critics’ Week competition at the 76th Cannes International Film Festival, May 16-27.
This is how his short film “Jesus” was born, in which he delves into the details of the lives of immigrants and their suffering.
An eye on African immigrants
The film follows the story of Issa, a 17-year-old African immigrant living in Cairo, as he races against time to save his loved ones after a violent accident.
Sky News Arabia caught up with the director, on the sidelines of his participation in the festival, to talk about this experience.
Director Murad Mostafa says, “I am the son of a working-class neighborhood in Egypt called ‘Ain Shams’, and it’s a neighborhood teeming with African immigrants, which made me obsessed with finding out the details of the stories. immigrants who come to the Arab world from many African countries.
The director had previously presented a similar film, about the story of an African girl, titled “Paradise of Ward”.
As for Issa, the film was shot in three days, under strong pressure from the work team.
The idea to produce the film started 3 years ago, when it was proposed by producer Sawsan Youssef, and the project grew over time during the writing phase.
In this way, Murad chose to present a different short film, and during this short filming period, he traveled to many regions.
One of the important things mentioned by Murad, which helped in the making of the work, is the strong relationship that unites the working team, and it is the same team that he dealt with while filming his four previous movies.
Communication between the members of the working team, according to the Egyptian director, is an important and necessary thing in the making of any good film, especially when the team is made up of young people who have the same artistic point of view on the works.
Murad believes that participating in the Cannes Film Festival makes him proud, and it is a step that carries a great responsibility.
He described the experience as “the real change in his path as a director after years of work”.
There is support for young people
On filming and production conditions in the Arab world, Murad says:
When the idea for the project was born, we decided not to settle for the idea of ​​seeking local financiers from inside Egypt to produce the film. Murad traveled with the project to many film development labs at major international festivals, starting with the Berlin Film Festival, where the real big kick off for the film project was. Despite this, he believes that there is great support for Arab youth interested in cinema, especially in light of the important festivals that have become known to the Arab Organization, which has managed to attract the institution that supports and funds Arab films.
This question has been reflected positively, according to the young Egyptian director, at the level of Arab films, particularly at the level of the technology used in the shooting of the films and the subjects they raise.
The film stars Kenyan actors Marcelino and Kenzi Mohamed, while Mustafa Al-Kashef supervised the photography department and Mohamed Mamdouh handled the editing.
The film, written by Murad Mostafa and Sawsan Youssef, is one of 9 Arab films participating in the Cannes Film Festival, including two Egyptian shorts.
Egyptian director Jihad Shaheen, with his short film “Le Canal”, takes part in the “Lucinave” competition, organized on the sidelines of the festival’s official competitions.
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