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Feathers of
a Father
a film by Omar El Zohairy
Feathers of a Father
a film by Omar El Zohairy
Technical Information
Working Title: Feathers of a Father
Director: Omar El Zohairy
Screenplay: Omar El Zohairy & Ahmed Amer
Nationality: Egyptian
Genre: Dark Comedy
Omar El Zohairy
Format: HD
Length: 120 min.
Shooting location: Cairo, Egypt
Co-production: New Century Production, Egypt
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: + 20 100 770 20 58 (Egypt)
+ 33 (0) 7 68 99 14 01 (France)
Director’s Biography and Filmography
­­­Festival de Cannes
Omar El Zohairy studied film directing at the High Institute of Cinema in Cairo and worked as an
assistant director in feature films and TV commercials from 2007 till 2015 alongside some of
Egypt’s most prominent filmmakers, including Yousry Nasrallah, Ahmed Abdallah and Ali Ali.
3, rue Amélie, F-75007 Paris
Tel. 33 (0) 1 53 59 61 20
Fax 33 (0) 1 53 59 61 24
E-mail:
[email protected]
www.festival-cannes.org
Zohairy’s first short film Breathe Out premiered at the 8th Dubai International Film Festival and won
the Jury Special Mention Prize in the Muhr Arab Short Competition. The film also competed at
many other festivals. His second short film, The Aftermath of the Inauguration of the Public Toilet
at Kilometre 375, was the first Egyptian film to be selected to compete in the Cinéfondation
competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2014, Aftermath went on to win several awards around
the world.
Zohairy is currently working on his first feature film Feathers of a Father. The project is selected for
Torino Film Lab’s Script & Pitch Program 2016 and awarded the first Baumi Script Development
Award from Pandora Film and Film und Medienstiftung NRW during the 66th Berlinale.
Since 2000, the Festival
Residence has provided each
year accommodation and support to twelve selected young
directors in order to help them
prepare their first or second feature film. A jury presided by a film
director sits twice a year, selecting these young filmmakers on
the basis of their short films, or
With the support of HP. Printed on an HP Indigo Digital Press.
even first feature film, and the
merits of their feature film project.
During their 4-and-a-half-month
stay in Paris, they work on the
writing of their feature film project, have meetings with professionals and try, with the support
of the Cannes Film Festival, to
bring their project to co-production status.
Synopsis
In a Cairo suburb, when a trick of a Magician
goes wrong at Mando’s birthday party, an
avalanche of absurdities befall the boy’s
family. The magician transforms the authoritative father into a chicken and fails to bring
him back. The mysterious transformation
of the father sets the family off to a tragically funny adventure to attempt to bring
Sami back and to survive without the patriarch. Rasha, the pregnant mother, who has
always relied on her husband will transform
into the protector of her family. Ramadan,
the older teenager brother, is forced to grow
up and fill his father’s shoes while figuring
out why he is attracted to men and dealing
with puberty. Mando, resorts to religion to
bring his dad back but gives up when his
prayers are not answered. When the father
ends up coming back in a violent zombie-like state, will they choose the father in
the human form or the chicken? Feathers of
a Father is a timely allegorical dark comedy
about authority in post revolution Egypt.
Statement of Intent
When an Egyptian family loses its patriarch,
they would do almost anything to survive in
his absence; but, with an oppressive society
they end up exhibiting the worst traits of a
patriarch / dictator themselves.
The transformation of the father into a
chicken in the story works on two levels.
It is a poignantly funny story about family
and society. Still, the allegory in the tale is a
direct attack on a patriarchal society where
the father figure is a dictator. Do Egyptians
need a pharaoh / dictator? Why did they
waste the golden opportunity to create their
own democracy only to bring back the military junta?
This film effectiveness is in the details and
the authenticity of the environment and its
inhabitants. I am planing to cast real life
characters in all the roles. Real locations
that are in a state of decay will be a testament to the state of the nation. Visually,
the film will be an image that is very close
to reality; unembellished, raw, violent. Real
places and people will be used to create
absurd hyperreal and absurd situations.
Synopsis
Dans une banlieue du Caire, lorsque le
tour d’un magicien se termine mal à la fête
d’anniversaire de Mando, une avalanche
d’absurdités va s’abattre sur la famille du
garçon. Le magicien transforme le père
autoritaire en un poulet et ne parvient pas à
lui rendre sa forme initiale. La transformation
mystérieuse du père va embarquer la famille
dans une drôle d’aventure tragique pour
tenter de retrouver Sami et survivre sans le
patriarche. Rasha, la mère enceinte, qui a
toujours compté sur son mari va se transformer en protecteur de sa famille. Ramadan,
le frère adolescent plus âgé, est forcé de
grandir et de « chausser les chaussures de
son père » alors qu’il essaye de comprendre
pourquoi il est attiré par les hommes et
doit gérer sa puberté. Mando a recourt à la
religion pour ramener son père, mais abandonne car ses prières ne sont pas exaucées. Lorsque le père finit par revenir dans
un état proche du zombie, vont-ils choisir le
père dans sa forme humaine ou le poulet ?
Feathers of a Father est une comédie noire
allégorique sur l’autorité dans l’Egypte de
l’après-révolution.
Note d’intention
Lorsqu’une famille égyptienne perd son
patriarche, elle fera presque tout pour survivre en son absence ; mais, dans une
société oppressive, elle finit elle-même par
prendre les pires traits d’un patriarche / dictateur. La transformation du père en poulet
dans l’histoire fonctionne sur deux niveaux.
C’est une histoire poignante et drôle sur la
famille et la société. Néanmoins, l’allégorie
dans le conte est une attaque directe contre
une société patriarcale où la figure du père
est un dictateur. Est-ce que les Egyptiens ont
besoin d’un pharaon / dictateur ? Pourquoi
ont-ils gaspillé l’occasion en or de créer leur
propre démocratie seulement pour ramener la junte militaire ? L’efficacité du film est
dans les détails et l’authenticité de l’environnement et de ses habitants. J’ai l’intention
de faire le casting de personnages de la vie
réelle, pour tous les rôles. Vrais lieux dont
l’état de délabrement sera un témoignage
de la situation de la nation. Visuellement, le
film sera une image qui est très proche de
la réalité; sans embellissement, cru, violent.
Des lieux et personnages réels seront utilisés
pour créer un hyperréalisme absurde et des
situations absurdes.