These are three short documentaries from the early years of my career, when I was learning the craft from every side of the camera at once. On these films I worked as a one-man crew. I wrote, shot, recorded the sound, edited, and directed every frame myself. The films collected here are a small selection from a much larger body of early work. I'm sharing them not because they represent where I am now, but because they are where I started, and they shaped the filmmaker I became.
Bekia
Release date: 2012
Bekia is an observational documentary about the lives of scrap collectors and antique traders in Egypt. The film looks at robabikia culture, tracing the journey of discarded items from neighborhood streets to the markets of Giza and Barqash.
Water and Blood
Release date: 2012
Water and Blood is a social documentary that explores the tragic consequences of water scarcity in the Egyptian countryside. The film centers on the village of "Al-Hajar," where the shrinking supply of irrigation water has transformed a vital resource into a catalyst for deadly family feuds and generational vendettas (Thar).
The Sorrows of the Brave City
Release date: 2013
The Sorrows of the Brave City is a short documentary about the city of Port Said and the two tragedies that scarred it: the killing of Abu El-Arabi by Mubarak's presidential guard, and the football massacre at the Ahly–Masry match. The film walks through the city's markets, shops, and streets, listening to the people whose work and livelihoods collapsed in the aftermath. What emerges is a portrait of a city paying for events it did not choose, in income lost and futures put on hold.
