Safar: I Love Cinema + Intro

Cairo, 1966 and seven year old Naeem lives for the cinema, dreaming of becoming a director. Naeem’s strict, traditional Christian father, Adly, regards the silver screen as sinful although his mother, who once abandoned a career in art, stands up for her son. Narrated by the 40-year-old Naeem, Oussama Fawzi’s compelling, atmospheric film looks back on childhood in Cairo’s Shubra district, and how a boy managed to create his own breathing space amid a stifling family environment.

I Love Cinema was released in Egypt amidst a wave of controversy with its view of Christianity prompting a lawsuit from Coptic clerics. However, Egyptian audiences judged the film on its artistic merits, and packed into cinemas, making the film an overnight success.

Presented in partnership with the Egyptian National Film Center

Read the Safar 2014 blog post by the Arab British Centre about I Love Cinema