The competition continues between old-timers and young blood in the Eid Al Adha film releases.
The Eid holiday will witness a showdown between established stars like Nour El-Sherif and Mahmoud Abdel Aziz on the one hand, and newcomers like Ashraf Abdel Baky, Hany Ramzy and Alaa Morsy on the other.
If the box office revenues of the latter group exceed those of the former, it will prove that a new era of Egyptian cinema is coming to life, according to a report by Egypt Today.
Movies to be on display will include “Al Asheqaan” (The Two Lovers), starred by El-Sherif and his wife Boosy in Nour’s directorial debut. The film, which received several awards at the last Alexandria Film Festival, revolves around the difficulties faced by a middle-aged man and a widow falling in love.
“Al Rehla” (The Journey) is the second film by Abdel Aziz this year. His first one, Souk Al Motaa (The Pleasure Market), directed by Ahmed Yehia and co-starring Wafaa Amer, cracks down on government corruption.
“Gaheem Taht El Ard” (Hell Underneath) is the third of a trilogy of “gaheem” (hell) movies produced by and starring Samir Sabry. The first was “Gaheem Taht Al Maa” (Hell Underwater) co-starring Layla Olwy and the late Adel Adham, which, incidentally, came out at the same time as “Gazirat Al Shaytan” (the Devil’s Island) starring Adel Imam and shared an almost identical plot. The second one was called “Gaheem II” (Hell II), co-starring Maaly Zayed. The latest in the sequel marks the return of Sabry to the silver screen in Lawrence of Arabia mode. The movie is set in the late 1940s and is about land mines left behind in the aftermath of World War II. The Syrian star Raghda co-stars in this third part.
Light comedies starring young up-and-coming actors seem to have the lion's share this season. “Rassha Garee'a” (a Daring Generosity) directed by Saeed Hamed, starring Ashraf Abdel Baky and Yasmine Abdel Aziz, tells the story of two struggling young actors from a remote little village who venture to Cairo seeking their big break.
The second film “Saeidy Rayeh Gaay” (Upper Egyptian Back and Forth) marks Hany Ramzy's first starring role. He plays a history teacher who is posted to an Upper Egyptian village where he encounters many difficulties.
Director Aly Abdel Khalek offers “Rendezvous” starring a trio of new actors; Ahmed Zaher, who appeared last year as a villain in Mohammed Heneidy's “Belya,” Khaled Abul Naga, and Ashraf Mosselhy. The film is about the three friends' encounter with a call girl.
Raafat El-Mehy's “Ashan Rabbena Yehebak” (For the Love of God) tackles the tricky situation that occurs when a man falls in love with a married woman whose husband, by some twist of fate, finds himself falling for that man's wife. Known for his wild and surreal sense of humor, El-Mehey managed to score big in El-Avocato (The Lawyer) in 1984 and Sayedaty Anisaaty (Madams, Mademoiselles) in 1990 – Albawaba.com
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