Egypt Film On Poverty Ruffles Feathers Triggering Patriotic Backlash

Egyptian movie “Feathers” has drawn critical acclaim abroad but its unsettling depiction of poverty in the Arab world’s most populous country has sparked heated debate at home.  Veteran actor Sherif Moneer, who walked out of a screening at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival this month, has led a patriotic backlash against the film for “presenting Egypt negatively”. 

But others have praised director Omar El Zohairy for shedding light on a genuine social problem in a way that is both artistic and constructive.  Recently at the closing ceremony of the fifth edition of the El
Gouna Film Festival, “Feathers” won the award for best Arab narrative film. 

“For me any artistic work will always generate differing views,” a beaming Zohairy told AFP on the red carpet, addressing the issue after claiming the prize. 

“The film is more important than any award,” the director said. “The film is strong because of its feeling, artistic authenticity... and human values.” “Feathers” tells the story of Om Mario (Mario’s mother), a poor woman from the rural south who struggles to make ends meet after her husband is transformed into a chicken. 
The absurdist narrative is performed by an amateur cast, mostly from the country’s Coptic Christian minority.  It was the first Egyptian feature film to win a major award at the star-studded Cannes Film Festival this year.  The film’s opponents, who also include pro-government lawmakers, accuse Zohairy of creating an exaggerated image of squalor that bears no relation to contemporary Egypt. 

Recently at the closing ceremony of the fifth edition of the El Gouna Film Festival, “Feathers” won the award for best Arab narrative film. 

“The slums that we had and those that are disappearing now are better than the scenes represented in the film,” Moneer, the actor, said in a television interview this week. 

Film critic Tarek El-Shenawy, who saw the first screening of “Feathers” at the Cannes Film Festival, described the backlash against the film as “vulgar and silly”. “There’s no artistic production that can actually tarnish Egypt’s reputation,” Shenawy told AFP. 

He praised the movie as artistically “great”, with an “engaging story” and in no way insulting to Egypt. AFP