Egyptian short Blackout competes at Tampere Film Festival in Finland - Screens - Arts & Culture

Al-Ahram Weekly

05-02-2025

The Egyptian short film Blackout will have its world premiere at the 55th Tampere Film Festival in Finland, which will take place from 5 to 9 March.
Blackout, the only entry from Egypt in this festival, will be screened in the international competition, vying for the highest price.
The drama film follows the story of a family who faces a sudden health emergency as their grandfather becomes seriously ill, so the male members of the family leave urgently to find a doctor but do not return, leaving the women and their children behind in a state of anxiety.
As tensions rise, the women are startled by the unexpected arrival of a young woman, a resident in their building, accompanied by a mysterious man. The women and their children met this encounter with intense reactions as they project their anxiety onto the man and woman.
Other films from Arab countries will also be screened at Tampere's festival. The titles include Nay Tabbara's Ebb & Flow (Lebanon), Rand Beiruty's Shadows (Jordan), and Uday Jubeh's I'll Get Back To You (Palestine).
Founded in the late 1960s, Tampere is one of Europe's oldest and biggest short film festivals. It qualifies for the Oscars, BAFTA, and European Film Academy.
Director Ahmed El-Zoghby
Ahmed El-Zoghby wrote and directed the film, which stars Gihan El Shamashergy, Sedky Sakhr, Malek Emad, Yara Goubran, Naglaa Younis, Youssef Dress, and Shaimaa Farouk.
El-Zoghby began his filmmaking career as an assistant director in the film Clash (2016), an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival and Egypt's submission to the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards (but it was not nominated).
El-Zoghby worked as a casting director for the film Flight 404 (2024) and several TV series, including Forgetfulness Game (2020), Sweet Dreams (2022), and Faten Amal Harby (2022).
He also worked as an assistant director for the TV series Eugenie Nights (2018) and the film Welad Rizk 2 (2019).
As a scriptwriter, he co-wrote the Saudi-Egyptian film Hajjan (2024).
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