Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction
Thu, 13th February 2025 – 7 p.m. Hackesche Höfe Cinema
Film: EAST OF NOON
Debate format: RUDELKRITIK
Critics in a pack: this format brings together voices from international film critics to take a closer look at the evening’s films and engage with the audience’s positions.
Guests include: Flavia Dima, Hala Elkoussy, Beatrice Loayza, Öykü Sofuoğlu
In cooperation with: Goethe-Institut Kairo
EAST OF NOON
D: Hala Elkoussy, C: Menha Elbatroui, Ahmed Kamal, Omar Rozeik, Fayza Shama, DOP: Abdelsalam Moussa, NED/EGY/QAT 2024, 109 Min., Arabic Original with English Subtitles – German Premiere
“Once upon a time, there were people who lost their imagination due to fear,” says the storyteller Galala, evoking the image of a sea that no one has ever seen. In a place where the clocks stand still, the old tyrant Shawky works to preserve his crumbling authoritarian regime, controlling the people with sugar and entertainment. Even Galala cannot escape his influence – but her grandson Abdo and his friend Nunno rebel, through music and without fear. Shot on 16mm black and white, EAST OF NOON is Hala Elkoussy’s second feature: a satirical parable with an experimental soundscape, reminiscent of classic Egyptian films of the 1950s in its verve. Not afraid to allude to contemporary society, Elkoussy here sends a clear message: power and gender relations must change.
Hala Elkoussy is a visual artist working across various media: photography, installation, archival material, sculpture, and film. After earning a BA from the American University in Cairo and an MA in Image and Communication from Goldsmiths College, University of London, she completed a residency at the Rijksakademie Van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam. She is co-founder of the Contemporary Image Collective Cairo, the first artist-run collective dedicated to the image in the Arab region, and founder of Fotomasr, an archive of photographs from 20th-century Egypt. A central theme in Elkoussy’s work is the power of storytelling to convey non-authoritative histories, challenging the dominant narratives of the State and Media. With several short films to her name, her debut feature CACTUS FLOWER premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Her second feature, EAST OF NOON, premiered at Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.