A film by Mohamed Diab

2017/Egypt/France/Germany/97min./ColorInArabicwithEnglishsubtitles

OfficialSelectionUnCertainRegard–CannesFilmFestival

DistributorContact:

RodrigoBrandão–Rodrigo@kinolorber.com

KinoLorberInc.333W.39thStreetNewYork,NY10018(212)629-6880

Pressmaterials:

www.kinolorber.com/film/clash

SynopsisSetentirelywithintheconfinesofapolicevan,ClashdramatizestheongoingpoliticalunrestinEgypttwoyearsaftertheArabSpring.It’s2013andmassprotestshaveledtotheousteroftherulingMuslimBrotherhoodbythearmy.Aseriesofarrestsfindsrivaldemonstratorstrappedinapaddywagontogetherunderthethreatofimpossiblystiflingheat.Fromthissimplesetup,MohamedDiabweavesawhite-knuckledtaleofresistanceandsharedhumanitythatartfullyevokesthepoliticalfaultlinesintheArabworld’smostpopulousnation.

Interview with Mohamed Diab, director

How did you come up with the idea for Clash?

Cairo678wasreleasedinEgyptafewweeksbeforethe2011revolution.Itookpartinthemovementandsoonenough,Iwantedtomakeafilmaboutit.Butduringthefollowingyears,thingshavechangedsofastthatallmyideasbecameobsoleteevenbeforewestartedwriting.Onlyafterthe2013eventsdidmybrotherKhaledandIdiscusstheideaofClash,whichhecameupwith.Wegotdowntoworkbybouncingideasbackandforth,thinkingthatthiswasthebestwaytotalkaboutwhat’shappeninginEgypt.Since2013,theconflictingforcesinvolvedhavebeenthesame:therevolutionaries,theMuslimBrotherhood,andthearmy.Ironically,theonlyrelevantsubjectwecouldfindabouttherevolutionwasitsfailure.What part did you take in the 2011 revolution?

Idrewuponmynewfoundfame:Cairo678hadjustbeenreleased,Ihadbeenontelevision,peoplerecognizedme.TodayinEgypt,peopleknowmemoreasanactivistthanasafilmmaker.Iwasn’toneoftheideologistsofthemovement,butratheroneofitspromoters.Iputmyjobasadirectorasidetofight,alongsidetheEgyptianpeople,fordemocracy.Ifeltitwasmyduty.IalwaysthoughtIwouldgobacktomakingfilmsoncethingsgotsettled,andIthought,asmanypeopledid,thatitwasthecaseduringthe2012presidentialelection.But,unfortunately,everythinghaschangedsincethen.Where were you at the time the film is set (i.e. a few weeks after President Mohammed Morsi stepped down)?

IwasinCairo,andjustlikeanyotherEgyptian,Igotcarriedawaybywhatwashappening.Alltheseeventstookplaceonthestreets;youcouldn’thelpbeingconfrontedwithorevenmixedupinitjustbygoingacrossthecitytogettowork.Atthattime,IdemonstratedagainstMorsi.Ofcourse,hehadbeenelecteddemocratically,butwewouldhavebeen

betteroffwithaMandelaofsorts,somebodywhowouldhavestoodoutfromthecrowdandreconciledtheEgyptianpeople.Butweknewthatwouldn’tbethecaserightfromthefirstroundoftheelections:thewinners,bothcandidatesonthesecondround,werethepro-IslamismMorsi,andsomebodyfromMubarak’sformerregime.Wewerecaughtbetweenarockandahardplace.ThatnightIcried,literally.AfterayearunderMorsi’spresidency,duringwhichhedividedthecountry,therewasthebiggestdemonstrationEgypthadeverhad,tocallforhisresignationandnewelections.Itookpartinthedemonstration.ButneitherMorsinortheMuslimBrotherhooddidanything.Maybeitwastoolate,anyway.ThefilmshowswhathappenedafterMorsi’sdeposition,thedemonstrationsthatsetCairoonfireandthecasualtiesthatfollowed.Butoneshouldchooseone’swordscarefully,becauseEgyptisblack-and-whiterightnow.Forinstance,ifyouusetheword“coup”todescribeMorsi’sremovalfromoffice,yourchoiceofworddeemsyouareontheMuslimBrotherhoodside;likewise,ifyourefertoitasa“revolution”,thatwordwoulddeemyoutobeonthemilitary’sside.IwouldlikepeopletowatchmyfilmwithoutwonderingallthetimewhichsideIamon.Itisn’tafilmaboutpolitics,itisafilmaboutthehumanratherthanthepoliticalaspectofthings.How did you come up with the characters for the film?

MybrotherandIspentalotoftimethinkingaboutthat.Wethoughtaboutsomepeopleweknow,andwewantedtoshowseveralaspectsofEgypt.Yetitisn’ta“panel”inthesociologicalsense:theproportionbetweentherevolutionariesandtheMuslimBrothersisn’tasbalancedinreallife...WetriedtothinkaboutordinaryEgyptians.Wewrotethirteenversionsofthescript.Obviously,thefirstcharacterswerethejournalistandthephotographer.ThejournalistwasinspiredbyMohamedFahmy,anEgyptian-CanadianwhousedtoworkforAl-Jazeera.Hespentayearandahalfinprison,andafterwardshesuedthenetwork,whichhadlethimdown.Inthefilm,heisanEgyptian-American,itwasawaytoaddresstheincreasingxenophobiainEgypt,andtheconstantconspiracytheorygoingonthere.Zein,thephotographer,wasinspiredbyMahmoudAbuZeid,alsoknownasShawkan,whousedtocoverthedemonstrationsforanEgyptiannewspaper,andwhohasbeeninjailforalmostthreeyearsnow.Shawkanwasonthesideoftherevolution,butthenanyonecouldgetarrested,especiallyjournalists,whowerebrandedastraitorsbybothcamps.Inaway,bothcharactersarereflectionsofmyself:IalsotakepicturesandIamclaustrophobictoo.

Tell us about the opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Thosepeopleareonthestreetforvariousreasons,butessentiallytheygetarrestedbymistake.Thereisafamily:parentsandtheiradolescentson.Themotherisanurse.Shecannotstandthepervadingchaosanymore.Herhusbandisprobablyacivilservant,althoughitisn’tsaidinthefilm.Theybelongtothemiddleclass.Therearealsotwoyoungmen:oneofthemisn’tpoliticallyactive,hewasjustfollowinghispal.Thehomelessmanisangrybecausehisdogdied.ThischaracterisagoodexampleofwhatIwastryingtoshow:ifyousawhimonthestreet,youwouldthinkthatheisathug.Buthisgenuinesadnessaboutthedeathofhisdogmakeshimhuman.Yousee,thisiswhatthefilmisabout,youdon’tknowanyoneuntilyoureallyknowhim.AmongtheMuslimbrothers,therearemembersandsympathizers,right?Indeed.Wedon’tknowexactlyhowmanymemberstheyhaveinEgypt,especiallyastheirorganizationisnowbeingtrackedanddeclaredillegal.Asforthem,theyseethemselvesasakindofclandestineresistance.Itriedtoclearlyseparatemembersfromsympathizers.Forinstance,theoldmanandthegirlwithaveilarereligioussympathizers,butnotmembers.AlthoughIamagainsttheMuslimBrotherhood’sideology,Icanstillportraythemashumanbeings.Youcan’tunderstandsomeoneifyoucan’thumanizethem.Inthefilmyouseetheircollapse,thefightbetweentheireldersandtheiryouth,whoarenowleaningtowardsviolenceasaformofretaliation.UnderstandingtheMuslimBrotherhoodandwhatthey’vebeenthrough,isveryessentialtounderstandingtherootsofextremismWhatistheconnectionbetweentheMuslimbrotherhoodandDaech?Theanswerisinthefilm:indeed,theexposuretobrutalityandviolenceleadssomecharacterstoconsiderjoiningtheextremistsinSyria.InEgypt,thisiswhatishappening:theMuslimBrotherhoodiscollapsing,somanyyoungmenarequittingandjoiningDaech.IfHadBadr,theSalafi,wouldhavementionedSyriainthetruckatthebeginningofthefilm,nobodywouldhavelistenedtohim.Butafterthecycleofviolence,resultinginoneguylosinghisfatherandanotherlosinghischild,itbecomeseasyfortheextremiststorecruit.CouldyoutellusaboutthemakingofCLASH?Technicallythiswasacomplexfilmtomake.Oneyearbeforeshooting,wecreatedawoodenreplicaofthetruckthatweputinanapartment.Werehearsedwiththeactorsfor

severalmonths,andtheyhelpedusfine-tunethecharacters.Westartedbyimprovisingandthewritingbecamegraduallymorespecific.Andthenweshotthoserehearsals:itwasachancetoshootthefilmbeforetheactualshootwhichgaveusakindofalivestoryboard.Simultaneously,webuiltthetruckthatyouseeinthefilm,whichisidenticaltothoseusedbythepolice.It’sarealtruckyoucandrive.Thefilmwasshotwithin8squaremeters,over26days,withalltheactorspresentallthetime.Theactionscenesarequiteimpressive.Thefirstonewasshotintwodays,with500extrasinastudio.Itwashell,mostlybecausethereisnostuntcultureinEgypt.Thestuntcoordinatorwouldtellme:“Thislooksreal,becauseitisreal”.Theextrasreallyfoughteachother,someofthemevengotinjured.Thebridgescenewasshotinthecity,onahugeinterchange,whichisoneofthebusiesthighwaysinCairo.Theshootingcausedunbelievablemayhem,becausealotofpeoplethoughtthiswasyetanotherdemonstrationandwalkedaway.Today,whenpeopleseeagatheringinthestreet,theythinkitisademonstrationandtheygetscared.Weshotfor12hoursstraight,withapassionateteam.Iguesswegotinfiltratedbybothsides,theMuslimBrotherhoodaswellasthepolice,witheachbelievingthattheothersupportedus.Makingthisfilmunderextremetimeconstraintsleadmetosomeweirdtalent,whichconsistsofgivingordersintothemicrophoneexactlybetweenthecharacters’lines.Theshotwherethesnipereventuallygetskilledisparticularlyemotional:thefeelingwegetisofaterriblewasteofhumanlives.ButIthinkthefilmavoidseasyanswers,andI’m100%againstviolence.Thatscenestartswithemotionalsoldierslosingtheircolleaguethengoestothekilleronthegroundbleedingtodeath.Youdecidehowyoufeelaboutit.Throughoutthestoryweseehowsomeonecanturnintothatkiller,andweunderstandhowapoliceofficercouldbecomesobrutal.It’stheviciouscircleofviolence.BiographiesMohamedDiab,directorMohamedDiabisanaward-winningwriteranddirector,whoseworkisoftencenteredonissuesconcerningEgyptiansociety.HisdirectorialdebutCairo678(LesFemmesdubus678)wasreleasedamonthbeforetheEgyptianrevolutionandisadramaaboutthreewomenwhounitetofightagainstsexisminCairo.DiabwrotetheblockbusterEgyptianfranchiseElGezira(TheIsland).ThosefilmsareconsideredthehighestgrossingEgyptianandArabicfilmsofalltime.ElGezirawasalsothe2007EgyptiansubmissionfortheAcademyAwards.

Besidesfilmmaking,Diabisknownforhisparticipationinthe2011Egyptianrevolution,whichearnedhimaWebbyAward.Aftertherevolution,Diabwantedtomakeafilmaboutit-andittookhimfouryearstodevelopCLASH,afilmthatwasinitiallyfocusedontheriseoftherevolution.CLASH,hissecondfeaturefilm,wasselectedastheOpeningfilmofUnCertainRegardattheCannesFilmFestivalin2016.NellyKarim,actressBorninAlexandria,fromanEgyptianfatherandaRussianmother,NellyKarimstartedoutasaballetdancer,trainedattheAcademyofArtsinCairo,beforeshebecameamodelandanactress.Shehasworkedinabout25filmsandtelevisionseries,includingYoussefChahine’ssecondtolastfilm,Alexandria...NewYork(2004).ShewasawardedtheBestActressprizeattheCairoInternationalFilmFestivalforKhaledYoussef’sMySoulMate.ShewasoneoftheheroinesinMohamedDiab’sCairo678(2012),andtogetherwithherpartnersonscreenBushraandHajedElSebai,shewontheJuryGrandPrizeatthe2011AsianPacificScreenAwards.

Cast:

NellyKarim…NagwaHanyAdel…Adam

TarekAbdelAziz…HossamAhmedMalek…MansAhmedDash…FaresHusniSheta…FishoAlyEltayeb…Huzaifa

AmrElKady…M.HashemMohamedAbdElAzim…Radwan

GameelBarsoum…SalahAshrafHamdy…Omar

MohamedTarek…HusseinAhmedAbdelHameed…AwadWaleedAbdelGhany…Nader

MaiElGhaity…AishaMohamedElSebaey…Zein

MohamedAbuElsoa’ud…AbdelHamidMohamedSalah…M.HashemMohamedRadwan…BadrMohamedElSouisy…Eweis

Crew:

DirectedbyMohamedDiab

WrittenbyKhaledDiabandMohamedDiab

ProductionDesigner…HendHaidarCreativeProducer…SarahGoherPhotography…AhmedGabrEditing…AhmedHafezSound…AhmedAdnan

Music…DagherProducers…MohamedHefzy,EricLagesse,M.W.ZackieCoproducers…OlivierPère,RémiBurah,NicoleGerhardsExecutiveProducers…JamalAlDabbous,DanielZiskind

Coproduction…

FilmClinic(Egypte)SampekProductions(France)

EmcPictures(EmiratsArabesUnis)ArteFranceCinema(France)

NikoFilms(Germany)

WiththeparticipationofArteFrance,AideauxCinemasduMonde-CentreNationalduCinémaetdeL’imageAnimée,MinistèredesAffairesEtrangèresetduDéveloppement

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