The Lurker is a feature documentary I directed and produced for Al Jazeera Mubasher Egypt. The film follows Mohanned, a young Egyptian who spent months going undercover among the groups known publicly as "honorable citizens", civilians who appeared at protests across the country and attacked demonstrators. Using hidden cameras, Mohanned documented who was organizing them, and how they were being moved from one protest to the next. The film puts the footage on screen, and lets the pattern speak for itself.
Executive Producer
Director and Video Editor
Genre
Investigative Documentary
Released date
May 2014
Production year
2013, 2014
Filming Locations:
Qatar, Egypt
On This Film
The Lurker was the most demanding film I had directed up to that point. Most of the footage came from Muhannad's own hidden cameras, which meant the structure of the film had to be built backwards from material we couldn't reshoot. Verifying the footage, protecting the source, and shaping a story that could stand on its own evidence were the three problems that defined the production. The film was widely watched and widely debated when it aired, which I took as confirmation that the questions it raised were the right ones to ask.
