Screenwriter Yusr al Sewi has wrapped up the script of the series La Ahad Yanam Fil Iskandaria (Nobody Sleeps in Alexandria) based on a novel bearing the same title by the writer Ibrahim Abdel Mageed.
The 33-episode series, which will be directed by Mohammed Fadel, depicts events that took place in Alexandria during the period between 1939-1942 through Sheikh Magd who is dismissed from his village upon an unfair decision by the village Mukhtar on the same day when Hitler announces war on Poland.
The Sheikh joins his brother, al Bahi, in Alexandria and settles in a house owned by a Copt and begins to face life with all of its difficulties. He takes on many jobs until he ends up as a worker at a railway station in the Egyptian desert area of al A’lamain. Meanwhile his brother resists the seduction of the dancer Loola in view the fact that she is his neighbor.
His colleagues convince him to become the bully of the neighborhood where he lives. This sheds light on the impacts of World War II on all classes of the society.
“I have selected this novel because it tackles a human issue which is relevant for any time and place and the relation of a human being with any other human being regardless of race, religion or culture. In my opinion, the most important thing in the series is the documentary side, as the writer did not overlook any cultural, political, social or artistic event. Therefore the novel has come as if it were a cultural reference for that period. I think it is the best time now to present the novel because it constitutes a strong protest against the war merchants,” al Sewi told the daily al Hayat.
Sewi has adapted a number of novels for the small screen, including: al Wasiyyah by Khalil Hasan Khalil, Khalati Safiyyah wal Dair (My Aunt Saffiyah and the Monastery) by Bahaa Taher, al Hobb Aqwa Min al Mawt (Love is Stronger Than Death) by Yousef Gawhar and Hello Ya Nagdah by Sanaa al Bisi -- Albawaba.com
