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You, Wagih (Toi, Waguih), by Namir Abdel-Messeeh. France, 2005, 29 min, MiniDV
Reticent and introspective, the eponymous Waguih is a reformed Communist and a onetime political prisoner in the early years of the Egyptian Republic—his life unfolds in fractured conversations with his son (screenwriter Abdel-Messeeh), extended silence and quotidian images such as Waguih’s retirement party. You, Wagih evokes Chantal Akerman’s recurring theme of parental silence, a silence of personal history born of unarticulated trauma that results in children’s sense of disconnected culture and uprooted heritage. It is also an all-too-familiar story of diaspora: a rupture in the continuity of ancestral memory, a first-generation cultural estrangement between traditional and assimilated culture.
Preceded by: We Will Live to See These Things, by Julia Meltzer and David Thorne. United States/Syria, 2007, 47 min, Digibeta
Sat, Nov 10, 6:05 P.M. Q&A with directors Julia Meltzer & David Thorne
Filmmaker's Biography
Namir Abdel-Messeeh was born in Paris and studied directing at l’École Nationale Supérieure des Métiers de l’Image et du Son (FEMIS). In addition to You, Waguih, he also made the short film Quelque chose de mal (2005).
Festivals and Awards
- Rencontres du Moyen Métrage de Brive, France, Grand Prix, 2005
- Festival du Film Court Francophone de Vaulx-en-Velin, France, Jury Prize, 2006
- Rencontres du Cinéma Européen de Vannes, France, Best Documentary, 2006
- International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Jury Prize and FIPRESCI (International Critics’ Prize), 2006
- Festival du Court Métrage de Grenoble, Prix Spécial du Jury, 2006
- Biennale des Cinémas Arabes, Paris, Special Mention, 2006
- Festival Images Citoyennes de Liège, Belgium, Coup de Coeur Prize, 2006
Credits
Writer: Namir Abdel-Messeeh
Producer: Simon Leclère
Cinematographer: Nicolas Duchêne
Editor: Albertine Lastera
Print Source
Unifrance
Phone: +33 2 38 62 56 64
Fax: +33 2 38 62 56 64
Email: info@alterego-prod.com
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