The Gate of Departure

Name: The Gate of Departure
Genre: Drama
Released: 2014
Duration: 65 min

Director: Karim Hanafy

Rights:

Highlights

The film topped film critic Mohamed Rouda's list of 10 Best Arab Films that were screened in festivals in 2014.
Forga Magazine chose the film as the Best Egyptian Film in 2015, and its stars, Ahmed Magdy and Salwa Khattab, were listed among the Best 5 Actors/Actresses in 2015.
A visual experience that does not adopt a conventional narrative conformity, rather, it is built upon poetic associations between scenes that form expressive tableaus closest in their structure to that of metaphorical poetry that alludes and gesture more than it reveals.
Screened in six Egyptian governorates during the Jesuit Film Festival.

2014/ Egypt65 min/ Drama

Original Title

Bab El-Wadaa

SYNOPSIS

A young man dreams of exploring the world as he grows up in isolation with his grandmother, who decides to lock him up in the house due to her fears that he would abandon her just as his father did.

CAST

Salwa Khattab
Ahmed Magdy
Amaal Abdel Hady
Shams Labib

CREW

Screenwriter: Karim Hanafy
DOP: Zaki Aref
Editor: Amir Ahmed

Production Company(ies)

Khaial Art Production with support from the Egyptian Ministry of Culture

Producer(s)

Ahmed Magdy

Jesuit Film Festival, Egypt

Arab Film Festival in San Francisco, USA

Carthage Film Festival (JCC), Tunisia

Arab Film Festival Berlin (ALFILM), Germany

Luxor Arab and European Film Festival, Egypt

Sudan Independent Film Festival (SIFF), Sudan

Kalamazoo World Languages Film Festival, USA

Silk Road Film Festival in Dublin, Ireland

Egyptian National Film Festival, Egypt

South Film Days Festival (Südfilmtage), Germany

Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), Egypt

Egyptian Film Critics Association (EFCA), Egypt

Egyptian Catholic Center Cinema Festival, Egypt

Film Society Festival for Egyptian Cinema, Egypt

Faten Hamama Film Festival, Egypt

Silver Pyramid Award for Best Artistic Contribution at the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), Egypt

Best Egyptian Film in 2015 at the Egyptian Film Critics Association (EFCA), Egypt

Special Jury Award, Best Cinematography, Best Music, Best Actress in a Leading Role, and a Certificate of Appreciation at the Egyptian Catholic Center Cinema Festival, Egypt

Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Music, Best Sound, Best Poster Design at the Film Society Festival for Egyptian Cinema, Egypt

Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Actress at the Faten Hamama Film Festival, Egypt

Jury Award and Second Production Award for Khaial Art Production at the Egyptian National Film Festival, Egypt

Reviews

Franck Scheck - The Hollywood Reporter

Tiffany Pritchard - Screen Daily

Radwa Iman - Al Bawaba News

Ibrahim Toutanji - Al Bayan

Kamal Ramzy - Shorouk News

Quotes

“Pushing boundaries both in story and style, Hanafy compares the film to a haiku poem, where structure ebbs and flows in long, meditative sequences, interrupted with bursts of colour and emotion.” Tiffany Pritchard - Screen Daily

“This visually stunning but narratively opaque experimental film is strictly for the festival circuit.” Franck Scheck - The Hollywood Reporter