Bassem Samra Movies
- 2008
The hostess of a nighttime radio call-in show crosses paths with a private clinic employee who moonlights at a shady abortion clinic in this Cairo-based drama from director Yousry Nasrallah. The Cairo snow falling gently outside her studio, radio hostess Laila counsels listeners on problems relating to their love lives. Laila's program is popular because bored listeners can live vicariously through the sordid tales of others, and local anaesthetist Youssef rarely misses a show. By day Youssef works at a reputable private clinic, but by night he supplements his income by giving illegal abortions. Youssef's father is dying of cancer, and Laila's program provides the only bit of enjoyment that the man's harried son finds in a typical day. One day son, Youssef and Laila's paths will cross for the very first time. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hind Sabry, Amr Waked, (more)
- 2007
A handful of kids from broken homes and damaged backgrounds are forced to fend for themselves on the streets of Cairo in this hard-hitting drama. Gamila (Reham Abdel Ghafour) is the de facto leader of a group of homeless young people who scrounge for survival on the bad side of town. Gamila, who is expecting a baby, supports herself by dealing marijuana, but not everyone in her circle is quite so ambitious, and Gamila is given to outbursts of brutal violence. One day during an argument with Bershama (Hanan Motawie), a streetwalker, she attacks the woman with a knife, leading to trouble with the law. Another one of Gamila's friends, Ramadan (Ahmed Abdel-Qawi), ran away from home rather than take more abuse from his violent father, and now he's trying to spare his siblings the same fate. And as gangs divide up the territory in Cairo's slums, Turbine (Bassem Samra), a former gang boss just freed from prison, is determined to claim some new turf. Al-Ghaba (aka Demons of Cairo) was written and directed by Ahmed Atef, and was adapted from his short documentary on the lives of homeless youth in Egypt. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reham Abdel Ghafour, Hanan Motawie, (more)
The lives and loves of a handful of Egyptian aristocrats -- some flush, others living in shabby gentility -- set the stage for this epic-scale drama, based on a best-selling Egyptian novel. The Yacoubian is a luxury apartment building which was built in Cairo in the late '30s. At the dawn of the 21st century, the Yacoubian still has charm and a reputation for elegance, but is beginning to show clear signs of decay, and the rooftop laundry facilities now double as flats for the less fortunate. Among the residents of Yacoubian are Haj Azzam (Nour El Sherif), a self-made business tycoon noted for his strict religious views. However, Azzam's public morality is a far cry from his private life, in which he uses his fortune to buy both political influence and the hand of a beautiful widow (Somaya El Khashab). Hatem Rasheed (Khaled El Sawy) is a respected newspaper editor who has a shocking secret -- he's gay, and is romantically involved with handsome young soldier. Zaki Pasha (Adel Imam) is an aging self-styled lady killer who has long lived at the Yacoubian off the largesse of his family. When his sister kicks him out of their flat, he is forced to move into the office he used for his trysts. Zaki turns to his former girlfriend Christine (Yousra) for help, but she can do nothing for him. Meanwhile, Bosnaina (Hind Sabry), who lives in one of the rooftop apartments and cleans Zaki's room, has grown tired of her relationship with her boyfriend, Taha (Mohamed Imam), who has developed a troubling interest in Muslim extremism. Omaret Yacoubian (aka The Yacoubian Building) was the first feature film from director Marwan Hamed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2003
In writer/director/composer/cinematographer Siegfried's handheld whirlwind of a movie Sansa, the title character is an ethnically ambiguous street hustler played by Roschdy Zem. Sansa travels the globe, hawking and bartering on the street, selling tourists sketches of themselves and consistently running afoul of police, airport security, and military personnel, all the while keeping a sharp eye out for beautiful women. When Sansa sees an attractive woman, he has a tendency to follow her wherever he goes, and as he travels from country to country, covering France, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Russia, India, Japan, Egypt, Portugal, and Ghana, this pattern pretty much stays the same. At some point during a particularly heated pursuit, he inadvertently steps onto the stage where a ballet is being rehearsed. The elderly orchestra conductor, an internationally renowned musician named Click (Israeli violinist Ivry Gitlis), chides him for interrupting the rehearsal, but later invites him to a café. The two strike up an unlikely friendship, based in part on their shared admiration for beautiful young women. Thereafter, Sansa seems to run into Click wherever he goes. In Italy, Sansa chats up Valentina (Valentina Cervi) until her boyfriend shows up and chases him off. In Spain, he interrupts a woman's (Emma Suarez) boardroom business presentation to sweet-talk her. In Japan, he meets an old friend, June (Ayako Fujitani), who laments his inevitable departure. In Russia, he gets caught in a crossfire between soldiers and Chechen rebels. Sansa was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of its 2004 Rendez-Vous With French Cinema series. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roschdy Zem, Ivry Gitlis, (more)
