DIFF FILMS

FOR THE YEAR 2010

ZELAL

Winner of FIPRESCI /Best Documentary Film :Marianne Khoury (Director)
Winner of FIPRESCI /Best Documentary Film :Mustapha Hasnaoui (Director)

Egypt, France, Morocco, United Arab Emirates / 2010 / Arabic dialogue with English subtitles / Colour / DCP / 90 mins

Genre: Documentary

Cast & Credits

Director: Marianne Khoury, Mustapha Hasnaoui
Producer: Gabriel Khoury, Marianne Khoury
Scriptwriter: Marianne Khoury, Mustapha Hasnaoui
Cinematographer: Tamer Joseph, Victor Credi
Editor: Doaa Fadel

Synopsis

A quiet masterpiece of hard-hitting reportage, Mustapha Hasnaoui and Marianne Khoury's 'Zelal' has drawn global critical praise for its hard-hitting and sobering insight into the lives of those afflicted by mental illness in Egypt today. Filmed in two large asylums, the film reveals the horrific conditions in which patients are expected to live - squalor and neglect is endemic, staff are stretched beyond breaking point, therapy and treatment seems non-existent. Khoury interviews inmates with gentle sensitivity and respect, never veering into sensationalism or patronising sentimentality. It's a brutal indictment of the country's failed healthcare system and the consequence of an increasingly religious conservatism in policymaking that leaves the afflicted stigmatised and left to rot. Harrowing 'Zelal' may be, but as a piece of vital social documentary, its sensitivity and uncompromising respect for its subjects imbues them, and the films arguments for fair treatment, with dignity and eloquence.

Contains: Strong Language 15+