Arts

‘Dear Future World’: The Egyptian Exhibition Taking an Emotional Journey Into the Minds of Arab Celebrities

By Marina Makary

During El Gouna Film Festival 2019, 22 celebrities were asked to write heartfelt letters to the future about their biggest fears. These fears were then presented through Ahmed Hayman’s photography and Reem Ossama’s filmmaking in a short film and photograph created for each letter.

Produced by Beit El Sura, under founders Ahmed Hayman and Reem Ossama, the project puts a spotlight on our humanity, how we treat the world, and aims that we, hopefully, start treating the world better.

Hayman described the shoot as an intense time, and said that it was “full of emotions and challenges”, while Ossama called it their “new baby” and stressed that they poured their “hearts and souls into this project”.

The series features several Arab celebrities, including Mona Zaki, Ahmed Dawoud, Amina Khalil, Hend Sabri, Sherif Mounir, Khaled El Sawy, Daniella Rehme, Mohamed Farrag, Carmen Bsaibes, Jamila Awad, among others.

We advise you to watch the videos and read the captions accompanying every picture, the letters are truly emotional. To prove it, over 700 visitors toured the exhibition in just one week!

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Social media, though it’s been capable of having a positive effect in a couple of important situations and in certain fields I generally don’t like it, I think 10% of it is good and the rest is simply a waste of time. Some people, yes, are able to use it wisely but most of us aren’t. I think the way it’s built and the algorithms used are designed to simply hook you. I quit Facebook 2 years ago and literally had withdrawal symptoms when I did that. I don’t like social media, I think it dumbs us, wastes our time, makes us less aware and sometimes more insecure. If I want something in the next couple of years it’s simply to be more present. Aly Kassem. . السوشيال ميديا.. مع انها في مواقف ومجالات كتير اثبتت انها مفيدة جدا. أنا بصفة عامة مش بحبها. افتكر ان ممكن ١٠٪ بس من الناس هما اللي بيستخدموها بطريقة صحيحة لكن الباقي مش عارفين. حاسس ان الطريقة اللي هي مبنيه عليها و الالجوريزمات مصممة عشان تخليك تدمنها. أنا قفلت حسابي علي فيسبوك من سنتين و جالي أعراض الانسحاب. مش بحب السوشيال ميديا، بحس انها بتقلل من ذكائنا و بتضيع وقتنا و بتستغفلنا وساعات كمان بتقلل ثقتنا في نفسنا. لو في حاجة أتمناها في السنين الجايه، أتمنى أكون حاضر أكثر. علي قاسم. Dear Future World Portrait series 14/22 #Dearfutureworld #رسالة_إلي_العالم

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بعدنا ما بنتقبل الاختلاف، ما بنتقبل الآخر، ما بنتقبل ان الآخر بيفكر بطريقة مختلفة او بيحب أشياء مختلفة. انا اليوم مابشبهك ولا انت بتشبهني قد ايه حلو هالشئ. قد ايه حلو يكون عندي هوية، كل حدا منا عنده حكايه، عنده تاريخ. خلينا نقدر ها النعمة، وما ننغلق علي حالنا ولا نخاف من غيرنا الحرب سبب عدم تقبل الآخر سببها انه بدنا نغير الآخر ليسير بيشبهنا، سببها انه بنفكر بمصلحة اللي بيشبهونا وبننسى ان الاختلاف بيجيب تطور مخاوفي للمستقبل، ما يجى يوم ويبطل في حرب وناس عم بتموت بسبب اختلافها..مخاوفي للمستقبل؟ كتار… هيدا واحد منن. كارمن We still don’t tolerate our differences, we don’t tolerate one another, We don’t accept that people think differently or love different things, I don’t look like you and you don’t look like me. What a beautiful thing it is, to have an identity. We all have a story, a history, let us appreciate this gift and not turn against each other. War is the great divider. Because of it we wish to change others to be more like us.Because of it we only care about those who look like us. And we forget that diversity brings development. Won’t there comes a day when the war is over and people stop dy-ing because of their differences?… My fears for the future? I have many, this is just one of them. Carmen. Dear Future World Portrait series 1/22 #Dearfutureworld #رسالة_إلي_العالم

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@hendsabri "Dear Future adults, We messed up, big time! And now it is too late to reverse this daily collapse of the only habitable planet we know, the only one we have. The worst thing that comes to my mind as a mother of 2 is that you my children, you my future adults will be the ones who will pay the price for centuries of greed, selfishness and consumerism. I cannot even begin to imagine a world where you will have to move continents to find water. A world where temperatures on the rise will make many places not livable, A world where oxygen is rare and CO2 is the gas we breathe. I am sorry… we are sorry, we hope you forgive our human oblivion. We hope you know and do better. There is no planet B." Hend Sabri . " يا كبار المستقبل، احنا أخفقنا تماما! و دلوقتي خلاص فات الأوان اننا نعكس الانهيار اليومي للكوكب الوحيد اللي ممكن نعيش عليه. اوحش حاجه بتخطر على بالي كأم لطفلين هي ان أولادي، كبار المستقبل، هما اللي هيدفعوا تمن قرون من الجشع والأنانية والاستهلاكية، مش قادرة اتخيل عالم هنحتاج فيه ننقل لقارة تانية عشان نلاقي المياه، عالم درجات حرارته المتزايدة هتخلي أماكن كتير فيه غير قابلة للمعيشة، عالم الأكسجين فيه هيكون حاجة نادرة وثاني اكسيد الكربون هو الغاز اللي بنتنفسه. أنا آسفة… احنا أسفين، يا ريت تسامحوا غفلتنا كبشر. نفسنا تكونوا وتعملوا أحسن مننا… مفيش كوكب بديل." هند صبري. Dear Future World Portrait series 2/22 #Dearfutureworld #رسالة_إلي_العالم

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"Dear future humanity, I hope you’re in a place where you’re still able to listen and be introspective., Don’t lose yourself in this whirlwind of happenings, don’t lose yourself in the world that might have made you cruel, you are all we have. It’s a fast-paced world out there, I truly hope that in the next decades of extreme technology and distance that’s constantly created between humans, we still find you." Tara. . " الي بشرية المستقبل، ياريت تكونوا في مكان قادرين فيه تسمعوا وتتأملوا، بلاش تتوهوا في زوبعة الاحداث، بلاش تخسروا نفسكم في صالح الحياة اللي ممكن تخليكوا قاسيين، احنا ملناش غيركم العالم ده سريع الحركة. نفسي نعرف نلاقيكم بعد العقود القادمة اللي .هتكون مليئة بالتطور والمسافات البعيدة مابين البني آدمين." تارا. Dear Future World Portrait series 3/22 #Dearfutureworld #رسالة_إلي_العالم

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"بخاف من الوحدة، من المرض، من الآلم والإحباط بس حقيقي اكتر حاجة بقيت بخاف منها هي الناس، الناس اللي فقدت انسانيتها، بخاف من الناس اللي بتعرف تدوس على الضعيف. الإنسانية والرحمة هي إنك تكون بني آدم مع اللي أضعف منك سواء كان انسان او حيوان، بقيت بخاف على الناس الضعيفة." ريهام عبد الغفور. . Fear is the one thing I fear the most, the one thing that truly terrifies me. I fear loneliness, sickness, pain, being let down But really that one thing that has been scaring me the most is people, people who have lost their humanity I fear people who can step on others who can step on those weaker than them, Humanity and mercy means being human with those less powerful than you, be it humans or animals. I fear for the less powerful. Riham Abdel Ghafour Dear Future World Portrait series 4/22 #Dearfutureworld #رسالة_إلي_العالم

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Poured our hearts and souls into this project.. we promise you it’s something you have never seen before ! . . 22 celebrities expressing their battles with the unknown future and the challenges it presents. . . All hoping it can help trigger some social and environmental change. . . Video series and Photography Project By @haymanics & yours truly 🙏 SOON . . Thanking everyone who trusted us to open their hearts to us and sharing such powerful messages with the world. This project was a dream and now we’re counting down to sharing it with you. . . Photo & Video Exhibition opening Sunday 23 FEB in Beit El Sura, it’s truly an experience that has to be witnessed! . . #Dearfutureworld #رسالة_إلي_العالم

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WE SAID THIS: We can’t wait to see the rest!

Marina Makary

Marina is an Egyptian journalist who aspires to become one of the most influential women in the Middle East. She’s spontaneous, rebellious, and not an echo. She likes to follow her heart and express that through words; her favorite form of expression.

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