Aisha Can’t Fly Away
Spring Grants 2023 - Production Stage
Morad Mostafa / Feature Narrative / Egypt, France, Germany, Tunisia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar / 120 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Drama
Synopsis
Aisha, a 26-year-old Somali woman, works as a caregiver for elderly patients. She lives in a neighbourhood in the heart of Cairo among the society of African migrants and witnesses the tension between different groups. Unwittingly, she becomes involved with an Egyptian gang that blackmails her into stealing her patients’ keys so that they can rob them.
Stuck in an undefined relationship with Abdoun, a young Egyptian cook, her routine is disturbed when she gets assigned to work in a new house, and her love suddenly disappears without a trace. Aisha struggles to cope with her fears and lost battles, causing her dreams to cross with reality and leading her to an impasse.
Credits
- Director
- Morad Mostafa
- Screenwriter
- Morad Mostafa, Sawsan Yusuf
- Producer
- Sawsan Yusuf
- Production Company
- Bonanza films
About the Director
Morad Mostafa is an Egyptian Filmmaker born in Cairo in 1988. He has worked on several independent films and collaborated as an Executive Director on 'Souad', which was in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival 2020. Morad is an alumnus of the Berlinale Talents and Locarno Academy. He wrote and directed three short films, all of which were selected at Clermont-Ferrand in three consecutive years, screened in more than 300 festivals worldwide, and won several awards. His latest short film, 'I Promise You Paradise', was selected for the Cannes Film Festival Critics Week 2023. Morad is developing his debut feature film, 'Aisha Can't Fly Away', at the Cinéfondation residency of the Cannes Film Festival and the Torino Film Lab and Rotterdam Lab IFFR.