A Deep Long Breath (Nafass Taweel)
Arab Feature Film Competition
Tahani Rached / Feature Documentary / Egypt, Qatar / 2012 / 63 min / Colour / HDCAM
In Arabic / English subtitles
Interests: Documentary, Politics, Social Issues, Youth, Family
International Premiere
Synopsis
Veteran Egyptian film director Tahani Rached adds to her growing body of documentary work about Egypt with ‘A Deep Long Breath’, which looks at the recent Egyptian revolution through the eyes of a socialist professor. Dr Jamal Ibrahim is largely unknown to the public; he does not write for newspapers or appear on televison. His knowledge of politics and his experience of life in Egypt are like that of many millions of Egyptian citizens who have hoped to bring socialism and humanitarianism to their country since the 70s. Rached focuses on Jamal’s experiences over the past decades, discussing his politics, his vision for education, issues facing the nation’s youth, and how the world’s view of Egypt has changed since January 2011. Finally, the film is an intimate summary of a person’s life and his realisation that building the future requires taking a deep, long breath.
About the Directors
Born in Cairo, Tahani Rached settled in Canada in 1966. She studied at Montreal’s École des Beaux-Arts, and made her first film, ‘Pour faire changement’ in 1973. Working for the National Film Board of Canada from 1981 to 2004, she made the documentaries ‘Beirut! Not Enough Death to Go Round’ (1983), ‘Au chic resto pop’ (1990), ‘Four Women of Egypt’ (1997) and ‘Soraida: A Woman of Palestine’. Since returning to Egypt in 2005, she has made ‘These Girls’ (selected for the Official Selection Out of Competition section at Cannes in 2006), ‘Neighbors’ (2009) and ‘A Deep Long Breath’, which screens at DTFF this year.
Credits
- Director
- Tahani Rached
- Producer
- Karim Gamal EL Din, Tahani Rached
- Editor
- Mona Rabie
- Co-Producer
- Dima AL Joundi, Mohamed Soliman, Sameh Gamal, Mona Rabie
- Music
- Tamer Karawan
- Cinematographer
- Mohamed Soliman
- Sound
- Sameh Gamal
- Mixing
- Ahmad Gaber
- Cast
- Gamal Ibrahim, Wafaa Abdel Azeem, Sameh Gamal, Saadeya Mostafa, Hussein El Meenebawy, Haleema Hamed, Fathy Barsy, Saeed Al Nashaee, Ahmad Fouad Negm