Soft Hands (1963)

The Mother of the Bride

This magnificently madcap comedy classic stars Egyptian film legends Tahiya Karioka and Emad Hamdi as Zeinab and Hussein, overworked parents who get little relief from the never ending demands of their seven mischievous children. When their eldest daughter, Ahlam, meets a dashing young man at a party, it's love at first sight and wedding plans must quickly be arranged. As preparations get underway, Zeinab and Hussein are soon overwhelmed by the elaborate and costly requests made by the groom's extravagant family. While tending to the needs of their other six children, Hussein and Zeinab must consider unconventional means to obtain the funds for a ceremony that the newlyweds will be proud of.

Mantovani, the King of Strings

Known for his unmistakable cascading strings and recordings such as Charmaine, Mantovani enthralled the world with his sublime arrangements. This is the story of the man and his music.

The Secret Six

Bootlegger/cafe owner, Johnny Franks recruits crude working man Scorpio to join his gang, masterminded by crooked criminal defense lawyer Newton. Scorpio eventually takes over Frank's operation, beats a rival gang, becomes wealthy, and dominates the city for several years until a secret group of six masked businessmen have him prosecuted and sent to the electric chair.

Trees

Wrapping the audience in waves of sound, Alberi takes us on a circular journey through the Italian countryside. The marvelous natural music at the tops of the eponymous trees makes way for the rhythmic cadence of civilization—men baring axes and the natural clatter of daily life—before their unforgettable return home from the forest. The singular artistry of director Michelangelo Frammartino (Le quatro volte) is beautifully displayed in this mesmerizing homage to nature.

Epa

The music festival "Midnight Light Festival" employ 7 girls to chauffeur the festival's artists in their "epa-tractors". During two summernights we get a insight into the 7 young girls' lives, thoughts, culture and dreams in the Northern Swedish inlands. Youth, dreams and engines in Vilhelmina municipality.

Big Time

The relationship between a male dancer and his actress girlfriend is threatened by a scheming chorister.

The Little Church That Could

Amidst a mostly Catholic community, a small tiny Anglican church offers more to the community of Placentia than people may think, and holds many connections and history to the rest of the world.

I due pezzi da 90

Franco and Ciccio are forced to abandon their sausage factory to reach the godfather of Franco: Nico Cavallaro. The two do not know that this is a smuggler of drugs and that you want to serve them to transport the goods.

The Art of Christmas

After her latest gallery exhibition literally goes up in flames, struggling artist Liv James accepts a teaching job at a local elementary school to make ends meet. Through this reluctant career move, she discovers her true self, a new sense of purpose, and a surprising romance.

Stripped

Alice wakes up with a terrible feeling that she had been raped. Her attempts to repress these nightmarish thoughts collapse, as she finds herself petrified and unable to get out of her apartment. Just across the street lives Ziv, a 17-year old gentle and gifted musician who faces his own loss. Fate will soon join these two characters together and reveal how a crisis can produce both destruction and growth, violence and grace.

Kuldip Patwal: I Didn't Do It!

A commoner is thrown into a jail cell on suspicion of murder of a local politician. Can he survive the State entrapment, or did he actually do it?

The Life of Chuck

A story told in reverse, starting with the end of Chuck Krantz's life, and moving back in time to show how he lived that life.

Come and Go

Tourists, foreigners and outcasts converge on the streets of Osaka in this sprawling ensemble drama by Japan-based, Malaysia-born filmmaker Lim Kah Wai. His eighth feature explores the lesser-known aspects of the Asian melting pot city through the eyes and experiences of a dozen characters who struggle to find their place in society: among them a Nepali refugee with dreams of opening a restaurant, a Burmese student struggling to make ends meet while working two jobs, and a Taiwanese sex tourist who travels to meet his favorite adult video actress.

The Absolution of Anthony

A 16-year-old gay boy lives with his Catholic grandfather in the Bronx.

Shaqow

The film's events revolve around a group of outlaw friends who engage in criminal and suspicious activities, but it leads them to major crises with dangerous consequences.

Empire M

Well off widow working Mother "Mona" is struggling raising 6 kids at different ages ranging from elementary school to University graduating students. The day she thinks to bring a new husband home proves to be a very difficult task.

Bit of Fear

Based on Tharwat Abaza's short story, 'Shey min al Khawf' takes place in a rural Egyptian village. Atris' reign of terror on the villagers is put to the test when a public act of defiance is carried out by Fu'ada, the object of his affection.

Wife Number 13

Murad Salem is a rich man who is used to getting what he wants whenever he wants it. When he meets a beautiful woman in Alexandria, he wants her as wife number thirteen. He buys himself into the heart of the woman, until a well-meaning, former fiancée of her husband tells her just how many times he has been divorced. The new bride launches into a series of ploys that keep her away from the marriage bed.

The Second Wife

A story in the Egyptian countryside about an unjust mayor who controls everything in the village with his power.

Rayya and Sekina

In Alexandria a terrifying phenomenon of the disappearance of women, spreads terror in the city. Police work to unravel its secrets. Officer Ahmed is preparing a plan to uncover who's behind it and it turns out to be the gang of Raya and Sakina, who were targeting women to steal their jewelry.

Whom Should We Shoot?

The film describes the political and economical corruption in 70s’ Egypt, through the relationship between a powerful man and his wife’s ex-fiance.

A Dinner Date

This movie revolves around the story of an innocent girl (Nawal) who was married to a rich and possessive man who still wants her back after their divorce; however she meets a hair stylist (Shoukry) and falls in love with him. They get married but her first husband starts torturing Shoukry so he can leave Nawal but he refuses. Eventually, acts of revenge begins from both Nawal and her ex-husband.

Again, Again

A bank employee has been friends with two different men since childhood; however, when they both begin competing for her hand in marriage, they get into many comedic situations and paradoxes.

A Toxic Marriage

Karim and Farida want to get married. Worlds collide when families meet. Karim's family is conservative and his parents do not approve of Farida's liberal background, so they resort to a series of funny tricks and pranks to stop the wedding. Will their love triumph or break under social pressures?

Between Heaven and Earth

In the blasting heat of a Friday afternoon in Cairo, a group of people – among them a movie star, a thief, a madman, a cook and a pregnant woman – find themselves trapped in an elevator for 12 hours.

A Man in Our House

A Man in Our House is a 1961 Egyptian film about the resistance to British rule in Egypt which ended in the exile of King Farouk in 1954 and the rise to power of Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Salama Is Fine

A courier is sent to deposit a cash amount to the bank but he arrives late. He goes to a hotel to spend the night and keeps the money in the hotel safe, but he gets confused with the Prince of Kandahar and who admires him and insists on keeping this confusion to reveal his enemies.

The Fools Alley

Khadiga lives in a poor neighborhood with her parents. She tries to save up money so she could marry her sweetheart Taha. Taha buys a lottery ticket in hope of winning a lot of money, but it ends up in Khadiga's religious father's hands who throws it away. The ticket gets picked up by the town's fool, who gets lucky and wins, driving the town into chaos.

Cairo 30

Mahgoub is a villager who moves to Cairo in search of a better life. When he enlists friend Salem's help to find him a job, Salem not only gets him a job at the ministry where he works but he finds him a bride as well. But the bride is the mistress of Qasem Bek, who will be visiting her once a week.

The Beginning and the End

Set in the suburbs of Cairo in the late 1930s, the story follows a middle-class Egyptian family grappling with the hardships of life after the death of their father, their sole breadwinner. The mother and her four children—three brothers and their sister, Nefisah—struggle to avoid slipping into poverty. They all go in different directions which aren't exactly good.

Jamila, the Algerian

Djamila, a young Algerian woman living with her brother Hadi and her uncle Mustafa in the Casbah district of Algiers under the French occupation of Algeria, sees the full extent of injustice, tyranny and cruelty on his compatriots by French soldiers. Jamila's nationalist spirit will be strengthened when French forces invade her university to arrest her classmate Amina who commits suicide by ingesting poison. Shortly after the prominent Algerian guerrilla leader Youssef takes refuge with her, she realizes that her uncle Mustafa is part of this network of anti-colonial rebel fighters. Her uncle linked her to the National Liberation Front (FLN). A series of events illustrate Jamila's participation in resistance operations against the occupier before she was finally captured and tortured. Finally, despite the efforts of her French lawyer, Jamila is sentenced to death...

The Choice

When a free-spirited sailor is found murdered, his twin brother, a famous novelist, is the prime suspect. Investigators uncover a possible liaison between the dead sailor and the writer's wife, and also learn that Sayed's successful fictions owed much to the inspiration of his brother Mahmoud's adventurous life. Just as the evidence against the writer seems overwhelming, Mahmoud turns up alive. But why are the twins never seen together...?

The Thief and the Dogs

This film, inspired by Naguib Mahfouz' The thief and the dogs, tells the story of Mahran, a thief who quickly ascends to be the head of his gang. However, his second in command conspires against Mahran to take his position and his wife. After his prison term, Mahran is thirsty for revenge. But being chased by the police and by his new enemies destines him to a tragic life in hiding.

Struggle on the Nile

Naïve young Muhasab is asked to accompany his more dependable friend, Mujahed, on a voyage up the Nile to Cairo. Once there, they will sell their boat, the "Bride of the Nile," in order to buy a barge that will make their village elders more competitive in business and trade. But a ruthless business rival is determined to see that the men never reach Cairo. Matters become even more complicated when Nargis, a scheming carnival dancer, is discovered hiding out in the cargo hold of the "Bride of the Nile."

Watch Out for Zuzu

A girl leaves behind her past life as a dancer working in Mohammed Ali Street and enters college. Her ambition is to acquire knowledge and to leave behind her former life. She finds herself in a relationship with a young man from an affluent background and thus becomes conflicted between her two lives.

Gone with No Return

Attia (Yehia al-Fakharani) works as a simple employee, after his mother-in-law threatens to break his engagement from her daughter because of his delay in getting an apartment. He travels to his hometown to sell his inheritance. There he falls in love with Kharyia (Leila Alawi) daughter of Kamal Bey (Farid Shawki) who bought his land.

Rise to the Abyss

Abla travels to France and gets recruited by the Mossad under the pretext of working as a journalist. By the time she discovers the truth, she's already in too deep. As Abla recruits her fiancé, an engineer in the Egyptian army, the General Intelligence Directorate assigns Khaled to arrest her.

Alexandria… Why?

Amid the poverty, death, and suffering caused by World War II, 18-year-old Yehia retreats into a private world of fantasy and longing. Obsessed with Hollywood, he dreams of studying filmmaking in America but struggles to pursue his dream, given the constraints of his life in the middle class and the horrors of war.

The Night of Counting the Years

Set in 1881, a year before the start of British colonial rule, it is based on the true story of the Abd el-Rasuls, an Upper-Egyptian clan that had been robbing a cache of mummies they have discovered at tomb DB320 near the village of Kurna, and selling the artifacts on the black market. After a conflict within the clan, one of its members made a crucial decision when the Antiquities Service arrived.

Saladin the Victorious

The first Sultan of Egypt and Syria leads the Muslim military campaign against the invading Christians from Europe during the Third Crusade.

Karnak

In the 1960s, the lives of three college classmates, Ismail, Zainab, and Helmy, take a dark turn when the three of them are arrested and tortured as part of the repressive and violent practices that were employed by the General Intelligence Directorate back then.

My Father Is on the Tree

A young man is shunned by his friends after he starts an affair with a dancer.

Return My Heart

In Egypt forties and before the 14th of July revolution in 1952, a poor family lives in a prince's palace where the father works as a gardener. The family has two children Ali and Hassan. Ali grows up liking the prince's daughter who loves him too. Now grown ups, they realize how impossible this love story is. Joining the army, Ali fights in Palestine while the brother joins the police and is part of the King's guards. Ali gets back from Palestine and joins the secret military movement that will soon rule Egypt, The Free Officers. The revolution starts and the Free Officers are now in charge, putting Ali against his brother as a guard for the king and also against his lover, the prince's daughter as the revolution will confiscate all her family's wealth.

The Innocent

A simple minded peasant was recruited in the Egyptian army where he was deceived to believe that political activists are his homeland enemies, but not for so long.

Prince Of The Revenge

Henry Barakat directed adaptation of Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo.

I Am Free

Part of a trilogy by Salah Abu Seif about women’s empowerment. The film takes place in late 1940s / early 1950s urban Egypt, and tells the story of a young woman’s search for personal freedom and a fulfilling identity as a young modern Egyptian.

Struggle of the Heroes

A difficult period in Egypt in the year 1947, when the villages of Egypt attacked cholera. A doctor (Shukri), who tried to serve the villagers to save them from poverty and hunger, is appointed in a village. (Adel Bey) The feudal lord of the village exploits its people to work on his land as forced labor and whoever objects to hand him over to a mental hospital, taking advantage of his influence.

The Sinners

Actress Sanaa Kamel is found murdered on her bed, and an investigation starts, taking into account everyone of the guests she hosted at her apartment the night she was killed: her jealous fiancé, a school instructor, a corrupt market manager, one of Sanaa's friends who works as a contractor, and a stud who was Sanaa's secret lover. As the investigation progresses, all the conclusions about the characters are always under question.

No Longer Kids

The play tells the story of four siblings trying to stop their father from leaving his family for another woman after one of them accidentally finds a love letter from an unknown woman to their father.

Kit Kat

Sheikh Hosny is a blind man who lives with his old mother and his frustrated son in the Kit Kat neighborhood. His son Youssef dreams of going to Europe to find work, and has a relationship with a divorced woman named Fatima. Sheikh Hosny refuses to admit his handicap and dreams of riding a motorcycle like every sighted person, he also spends his nights smoking hash with the locals in order to forget his miseries after the loss of his wife and selling his father's house.

The Collar and the Bracelet

In 1933 in the village of Karnak in Luxor, sad lives with her husband Bakhit Bishari paraplegic and TB disease.

The Water-Carrier Is Dead

The story of the friendship that develops between two men with quite different world views. One, a water carrier whose wife has died twenty years before, spends his days thinking about her. The other, who works in the funeral business, spends his life in the pursuit of pleasure because he recognizes that death will bring an end to all enjoyment. They meet and become friends. Through this friendship the water carrier is encouraged to change his morbid way of thinking and to enjoy life.

Cairo Station

Qinawi, a physically challenged peddler who makes his living selling newspapers in the central Cairo train station, is obsessed with Hanuma, an attractive young woman who sells drinks. While she jokes with him about a possible relationship, she is actually in love with Abu Siri, a strong and respected porter at the station who is struggling to unionize his fellow workers to combat their boss' exploitative and abusive treatment.

Return of the Prodigal Son

Freed after spending years in prison, an activist's homecoming turns into a dark affair as his disillusion clashes with his family's expectations. Demonstrating Chahine’s eclecticism, this is an elegant melodrama, exuberant musical, layered allegory, and profound portrait of personal and political disillusionment.

The Emigrant

The biblical tale of Joseph is told from an Egyptian perspective in this interesting character study. In this film, Joseph is called Ram. Ram, tired of his family's backward superstitious life, and tired of being picked on by his brothers, wants to go to Egypt to study agriculture. His brothers travel with him across Sinai, but then suddenly sell him to Ozir, an Egyptian who works for a Theban military leader, Amihar. Amihar is impressed by Ram's drive and personal charm and so grants Ram some desolate land outside the capital. Ram soon finds himself a pawn in the political and sexual games between Amihar and his wife Simihit, a high priestess of the Cult of Amun.

Azima's Gang

Azima is a blind woman whose son's naivety may cause them to lose their home, so she decides to form a gang, hoping to save the situation.

Maqsoom

Hind, Emy and Rania can’t really stand each other. In the 90s, during their university years, they used to sing together in a band in before personal differences tore them apart. When they receive an invitation to sing together in Aswan, the three women reunite and are forced to work together on one last show. As they come together for this surprise reunion, they find themselves in a mix of challenges and comedic moments, remembering their past and rediscovering their present.

Bittersweet

Masry el Araby is an American-Egyptian citizen who travels back to his home town (in Egypt) after living in the US for 20 years. He has this idea of Egypt being a wonderful and amazing country, but the idea soon crashes as he faces reality. After arriving in Egypt, Masry is treated badly when he uses his Egyptian Passport. But then when he starts using his American Passport as an identification card, he is paid with a lot of respect. He faces many problems as he loses both passports.

People Of The Top

Zaatar is a thief who works for Zaghloul the owner of an import and export company. Zaghloul exploits Zaatar and makes him smuggle goods from customs. Zaatar gets to know Siham,the sister of officer Mohammed, and they fall in love and he starts working on his own and competes with Zaghloul.

We Are the Bus People

Adel Imam and neighbour Abdel Moneim Madbouly are taken to a Police station after an altercation with a bus conductor. They are mistakenly arrested with a group of suspected terrorists and taken to a maximum security jail.

A Break of Happy Moments

A romantic comedy about a couple who encounter many problems, until a portal opens by chance that leads them to parallel worlds.

Playing with Giants

When Hassan Bahlal, a young unemployed man, calls the National Security Agency to report a fire that is to break out in a factory the next day, a new chapter in Hassan's life begins as he tells the officer he has foreseen the incident in a dream.

The Land

Set in 1933, the mayor informs the peasants that the share of irrigation of their land will be split equally between them and feudal lord Mahmoud Bey. The peasants send Mohamed Effendi to submit a petition to the government. Mahmoud Bey then proposes a project that would require taking part of the peasants' lands.

The Sparrow

Set shortly before and during the Six Day War in June of 1967, The Sparrow follows a young police officer stationed in a small village in Upper Egypt whose inhabitants suffer from the harassment of a corrupt businessman.

An Egyptian Story

After we last see him in "Alexandria, Why?" Egyptian filmmaker Yehia Mourad is in his thirties, and successful in his work, he has grown distant from his wife and children and suffers a symbolic blockage of the heart while shooting the final scenes of his latest film. After being flown to England for evaluation, it's determined that Yehia must undergo emergency surgery. Fact and fiction blend seamlessly—with healthy doses of cleverly absurdist fantasy—as the film explores the various personalities and forces that have made Yehia (and Youssef Chahine) the man he has become.

The Alexandrian

The story unfolds in Alexandria, where Haj Ali Eskandarany is revered as the city's leader for his benevolence towards the humble and needy, and his care for everyone. However, a bitter conflict ensues between Haj Ali and his son Bakr, whose aspirations for power and wealth without effort stand in stark contrast to his hardworking cousin, Younis. Bakr competes with Younis also for the affection of Qamar, the woman he loves. As tensions escalate, Bakr commits a significant error, resulting in his expulsion by his father.

The Leech

A rural mother sells her only cow in order to enroll her son, an imam (Shukri Sarhan) at Dar al-Uloom College. When an imam arrives in Cairo, he rents a room in the Citadel area from a domineering woman named Shafa'at (Tahiya Karioka) who is fascinated by his youth and vitality and lures him into practicing vice with her. As a result, he stumbles in his studies and health. At this time, a girl whom she and her father knew from a young age helps him to get rid of all the corruption in which he lives, and her father advises him to stay away from intercessions, but the intercessions plots against him in an attempt to stay with her.

Our Best Days

A poor girl lives on the rooftop of a building. Three young neighbors fall in love with her. The decide to help her when they discover that she is seriously ill and in need of an urgent operation.

The Bus Driver

A father loses his carpentry workshop after his son-in-law stops paying taxes regularly. His son Hassan, a bus driver, struggles hard to save his father’s workshop, while the daughters try to replace it with a new project inspired by the “Infitah” era.

My Wife & the Dog

Chief Morsy is a lightkeeper staying at a faraway lighthouse. He marries So'aad and shortly returns to the lighthouse where he recounts to Nour his adventures with women. When he sends his wife a letter with Nour, Morsy grows suspicious of his wife's fidelity. Suspicions nourished by his jealousy.

My Wife the General Manager

A married couple ends up working at the same company where the wife is a general director. This arouses the suspicion of their co-workers who do not know they are married.

Al Avokato

After getting sentenced with one month in prison for contempt of court, the lawyer Sbankh tries to take advantage of his jail time to establish many relations, most notably with drug dealer Hassouna,and Salim Abu Zaid, one of the centers of power in the 60s.

The Nightingale's Prayer

This compelling tale of love and betrayal, set in the upper Egyptian countryside, follows the story of Amna as she plots her revenge on the engineer who destroyed her family's honor.