Hamada Hilal, the Egyptian singer and actor, begins his latest movie, Mr. & Mrs. Owais, with a concert dedicated to the victims of natural disasters in Japan.  One song begins “The martyrs of Japan’s events died during Japan’s events … They had gone and passed away,” which mocked the satirical revolution song, which goes: “The martyrs of January 25th died during January’s events … They had gone and passed away.” The original song Hilal is mocking is none other than his own creation.

Hamada Hilal, the Egyptian singer and actor, begins his latest movie, Mr. & Mrs. Owais, with a concert dedicated to the victims of natural disasters in Japan.  One song begins “The martyrs of Japan’s events died during Japan’s events … They had gone and passed away,” which mocked the satirical revolution song, which goes: “The martyrs of January 25th died during January’s events … They had gone and passed away.” The original song Hilal is mocking is none other than his own creation. For the first time, a singer has used self-deprecating humor to fulfill moviemakers’ main priority, namely, cracking jokes.  

In another scene, actors chant “We either die like them or get their rights” in a protest that has little to do with what was going on at Tahrir Square. When the actress playing the role of a good group leader listens to a Palestinian girl recalling her tragic story, the group responds by kidnapping the Israeli ambassador to Cairo in probably one of the most offensive scenes in the history of Egyptian cinema. Had the protestors not laid siege to the Israeli embassy in the summer of 2012, ‘Owais’ makers wouldn’t have had the guts to add such a scene.

Depicting without understanding

Hence, we can answer the main question of this article: why Egyptian moviemakers have failed to deal with the events of the revolution and insisted, at the same time, on depicting it in most of their movies until the last Eid season? The answer to the second part of the question is quite obvious; it was difficult for them to present movies isolated from what happened at Tahrir Square, while the first part suggests that there is a real crisis between moviemakers and the revolution, for most of them didn’t belong to it in the first place and only want to support it on the screen in their own limited way.

As for the artists who took part in the Tahrir Square protests, they have agreed that producing movies about January events requires more time.

It is not surprising that the movies, which approached the revolution differently, were shown in international festivals before finding their way to the Egyptian viewers. Among these movies are “Eighteen Days”, which was made by 10 moviemakers and a huge number of stars and was shown at Cannes Film Festival 2011; “After the Battle,” shown at Cannes Film Festival 2012 and also this September amid expectations of failure, despite the fact that it focuses on the executers of the Camel Battle on 1 February 2011 – who stormed into the Tahrir Square with horses and camels – rather than on the revolution itself.

There is also “Last Winter”; script by Omar Waked and directed by Ibrahim Battoot. But it won’t be shown in Egypt before finishing a round of festivals, the first of which is Venice Film Festival.

In the meanwhile, and until moviemakers who have experienced the revolution make more films, the audience will have to settle for movies whose makers have intentionally decided to exploit the revolution and sometimes condemn it without giving it real support that remains in the viewer’s mind even after leaving the dark hall.

Akram Farid has produced three movies since the revolution, the last of which is “Mr. & Mrs. Owais”; the first is “Sami Oxide Al-Carbon” which is starring Hani Ramzi and is about a womanizer who falls in love with a political activist. The details captured by the movie stress that the activists are fake, only want fame and call for shallow ideas.

The second movie, “Amn Dawlat,” starring Hamada Hilal, who plays the role of an officer appointed to protect the family of an atomic scientist in danger of assassination and the adventures with her five children typically taken from many American movies. The movie criticizes the dissolved security apparatus, which used to collect information and compile files about people rather than protecting them. It was very direct about getting its ideas across, but its makers wouldn’t dare try this approach again, as the police are strong once again.

The police are also present in Muhammad Heneidi’s latest movie, ‘Granma Rahiba’. When the star gets in direct conflict with an officer who treats him violently, a group of activists film him and post it on YouTube, so he gets scolded by his superiors. The hero resorts to the same officer once again to get some help but he doesn’t support him because he has to maintain law and order even though he is convinced that the citizen’s claim is right, to avoid being defamed by the activists who have become a popular subject for most of the Egyptian moviemakers since the revolution.

One of those is comedian Muhammad Saad in his latest movie, ‘Tick Tick Boom’. The revolution breaks out on his wedding night so he has no choice but to leave his bride and become a member of popular committees. The movie sends hidden accusations that the rebels are paid and Saad re-uses characters, which he already played, as if his aim was just to be on screen and use the revolution only as a means.

Amid all of this distorted treatment of the revolution, it is not surprising to find out that the movie with the highest box office revenues since the revolution has been “Haram Street”, starring Saad Saghir and Dina, the belly dancer. It is about a singer and a belly dancer who aspire to become the stars of the most famous night club street in Egypt.