The Other Side

A short film by Mukhtar Shehata and Samuli Schielke

The Other Side is a short film about class boundaries and the gaze towards the other side whereby people search to cross the lines that separate them.

Shot on location in the district of Al-Mandara in Alexandria, The Other Side is a realistic fantasyset at two boundaries that mark the lives and expectations of the inhabitants of the area. One is the Abu Qir railway line that runs parallel to the coastline, separating a wealthy neighbourhood at the seafront from a poor, informal area on the inland side. The other boundary is the Mediterranean sea, which separates North Africa and the Middle East from wealthy Europe.

The hero, a man with an extremist appearance from the poor side of the railroad, finds the railroad as impenetrable as the walls of Berlin and Palestine. But if his course of action seems violent at first, it soon takes a different turn. Standing at the railroad, he faces the impossibility of a love across social classes. Having finally crossed one wall under suspicious circumstances, he finds himself facing new walls. Gazing across the sea, he wonders whether there may be someone like him at the opposite shore, also longing for the other side.

Language spoken in film: Arabic
Language of subtitles: English
Year of production: 2010
Country of Production: Egypt, The Netherlands
Running time: 9 minutes


Screenings

23 June 2011: Theater Nestroyhof / Hamakom, Vienna.

20 April 2011: 10th International Conference of the International Society for Ethnology and Folklore, Lisbon.

International premiere:7 November 2010: ALFILM Arabic Film Festival, Berlin, Germany

1 November 2010, 18:30: Austrian Cultural Forum, Cairo, Egypt

Egyptian premiere: 30 October 2010, 21:00: El-Dokan, Alexandria, Egypt

25 October 2010, 19:00: Semat, Cairo, Egypt

24 October 2010, 19:30: AUC Center for Migration and Refugee Studies, Cairo, Egypt

21 October 2010, 19:30: Palace of Arts, Cairo, Egypt