Poisonous Roses + Q&A

The characters of Cairo’s old tannery district are vividly evoked in Egyptian filmmaker Ahmed Fawzi Saleh’s Poisonous Roses, where narrative takes a backseat to mood and visual immersion.

 

Set in the same milieu as his striking documentary debut Live Skin, Saleh’s sophomore effort centres on the obsessive relationship between a young sister and her apathetic brother who wants to flee from his destitute life to Italy. Based on Ahmed Zaghloul Al-Shiti’s 1990 cult novel Poisonous Roses for Saqr, Saleh’s bold adaptation transforms the novelist’s lucid text into an elliptical narrative. This is a portrait of modern lower-class Cairo by turns stark and humane, brutal and beautiful.

 

SAFAR Multibuy offer: Tickets are £9 each when booking for 3 films or more.