A press conference was held on Thursday 26th of July at the Falaki Theatre by ZAD Communications & Productions LLC in association with AROMA and Ein Shams Films to announce that their latest feature film Winter of Discontent, directed by Ibrahim El Batout has been officially selected for an exclusive world premiere at this year’s 69th Venice International Film Festival. Held from the 29th of August to 8th of September 2012, Winter of Discontent will be competing at the festival’s Orizzonti Section together with some of the world’s most distinguished international films.The festival, which is part of the Venice Biennale, has been for over a century considered one of the most respected cultural institutions in the world.
After announcing the big news, Amr Waked and director Ibrahim El Batout stirred a discussion about the future of film in Egypt. “Cinema should not just be limited to flirtatious outbursts of creativity that speak only to an elite, but should become a cultural institution to affect and get affected by society,” said Waked.
“It’s an honor for our film to be opening in the Venice International Film Festival and we’re excited / thrilled to have such a prestigious premiere,” said Ibrahim El Batout, award-winning director of other feature films and documentaries like Ein Shams and Mass Graves in Iraq.“Making this film was like a life raft for the cast and crew during the emotionally and politically turbulent times for our country,” he added.
Set against the momentous backdrop of the whirlwind protests of Cairo’s Tahrir Square that began on January 25th, 2011, Winter of Discontent (formerly called R for Revolution) takes audiences on acompellingly raw, starkly moving journey into the lives of activist Amr (Amr Waked), journalist Farah (Farah Youssef) and state security officer Adel (Salah Alhanafy). The film poetically explores the anguish of a victim of state terror in 2009, presaging and intertwining with the pivotal events in 2011 that changed the face of Egypt and the world, as we know it. As the stories of the characters unfold, audiences are propelled headlong into the surreal atmosphere of uncertainty.
Check out the teaser here: –
For further information about the film, visit: http://www.winterofdiscontentthefilm.com
