Lust
Spring Grant 2011 - Post-Production Stage
Khaled El Hagar / Feature Narrative / Egypt, Qatar / 2011 / 133 min / Colour / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Drama, Social Issues
Synopsis
Umm Shooq has run away from her wealthy family to marry the man she loves and has settled into a life of poverty in a marginalised street in Alexandria. In this world, she sells coffee to neighbours and reads their fortunes. Desperate to pay for a life-saving operation for her son, she returns to Cairo to ask her family for money, but finds she cannot face the shame and starts begging on the streets. Back in Alexandria, her son dies; finally Umm Shooq returns to Cairo as a beggar.
Credits
- Director
- Khaled El Hagar
- Screenwriter
- Sayed Ragab
- Producer
- Dima Al-Joundi, Mohamed Yassine
- Executive Producer
- Amr El Safie
About the Director
Khaled El-Hagar was born in Suez in 1963 and studied law at Cairo University. After working as an assistant director for acclaimed director Youssef Chahine, El-Hagar studied scriptwriting and film directing at the UK’s National Film & Television School, Beaconsfield. His first feature, ‘Little Dreams’ (1994), was made for the German channel ZDF. It was followed by ‘Room to Rent’ (2000), which was shot in the UK for Studio Canal. It received eight international awards and was released across Europe, Canada and USA. His other features include ‘Stolen Kisses’ (2008), ‘Love of the Girls’ (2004) and ‘Ma Fich Gheir Kida’ (2006), the first Egyptian musical made since the 40s.
Awards and Festival History
Festivals
Cairo International Film Festival 2010 (Egypt)
Doha Tribeca Film Festival 2011, in the Arab Feature Film Competition (Qatar)
Muscat Film Festival 2012 (Oman)