Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir, whose latest documentary “The Brink of Dreams” became the first Egyptian film to win the Golden Eye Award for best documentary at Cannes earlier this year, have received the Variety Middle East and North Africa Talent of the Year Award. The ceremony was held at the El Gouna Film Festival, where their film is also playing as part of the Feature Narrative Competition.
“The Brink of Dreams” is a moving coming-of-age story following the Panorama Barsha Troupe, an all-female theater group in a remote village in southern Egypt who take to the streets to act out their plays denouncing underage marriage, domestic violence and patriarchy in a deeply conservative society.
“It’s wonderful to get this award and truly meaningful for us as filmmakers. We deeply respect the creatives who received the award before us and are so very happy to join them,” said Riyadh. “It’s also special for us to be receiving this the same day of the MENA premiere of ‘The Brink of Dreams.’ This is a much-awaited homecoming and the first time an Egyptian audience is going to get to see the film and we are super excited.”
“This is the first-ever documentary to be released widely and commercially in cinemas in Egypt,” added El Amir. “It’s an important moment for the industry and a different film from what audiences are used to seeing. It’s very rare to see young girls from the southern part of Egypt, so this is also a film about representation.”
Riyadh and El Amir are the founders of Cairo-based Felucca Films. Their feature debut “Happily Ever After” — chronicling the beginning of the real-life partners’ romance against the early days of the Egyptian Arab Spring — premiered at IDFA in 2016. Riyadh’s short film “The Trap,” produced by El Amir, played Cannes’ Critics’ Week in 2019. “The Brink of Dreams” also played as part of Critics’ Week.
Past award recipients of the Variety MENA Talent of the Year Award include Mohamed Kordofani, whose drama “Goodbye Julia” was the first Sudanese film selected at Cannes, and Mohamed Kordofani and Ziaid Doueiri, whose tense courtroom drama “The Insult” earned Lebanon their first ever Oscar nomination.
Receiving the award made the filmmaking duo reflect upon the importance of telling authentic, often untold stories and safeguarding and supporting their national cinema. What are their hopes for the future of Egyptian filmmaking? “I hope for more films to come, from diverse filmmakers from different areas, regions and territories,” said El Amir. “I think it’s very important to have more support for Egyptian films and to have more freedom. We must be able to express ourselves and reflect upon our society.”