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The Unforgotten Past in the Cairo Film Festival
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The
German film Blackout Journey
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A
long time ago while I was reading an essay by renowned Scottish historian,
critic, and sociological writer Thomas Carlyle titled “Characteristics,” one
statement particularly caught my attention: The Present is the living sum-total
of the whole Past. And since our lives are shaped by our past experiences, for
those who have experienced a degree of pain and suffering, let alone a terrible
dramatic event, there is a big chance that the rest of their lives will be
affected to a great extent by the suffering of the past.
While
I was covering the Cairo International Film Festival, I kept thinking about
Carlyle’s statement and realized that such tragic events of the past do not
only cause turmoil in the lives of those experiencing them, but also provide
artists with a rich material that has great potential for captivating the
audience. The significant impact that past events have on our lives was a
recurrent theme throughout many of the films taking part in festival, where the
influence of the past on the present and future of individuals and entire
nations was intensively tackled and explored in a variety of forms and styles.
The
Tragedies of the Past
In
the French movie Le Cou de la Giraffe (The Giraffe’s Neck), for
instance, the realization of a 9-year old girl that her grandmother is still
alive, contrary to what she has been told by her family, turns the life of the
entire family upside down and brings the long-forgotten past with all its pain
and suffering up front. Another vivid example of the same concept is in the
Greek movie Dust, where Chronis, a Greek journalist leading a happy
normal life with a great family of his own, has been receiving a pension from
the Greek government in return for his father’s faithful service in the
regular army during the Greek civil war. One evening, as he is watching a
documentary about the war, he sees a shot of his father fighting on the rebel
side, a scene that shakes his whole life. Suddenly, he suspects everything he
has believed for his entire life and starts an investigation to find the truth
about the reality of his father.
Wars
Are Never Forgotten
Due
to their complex nature and unbeatable consequences that last for a lifetime,
wars are considered the worst experiences a person can go through, even long
after they are over. The wide impact they have on individuals, families and
entire nations makes them much harder to forget. Until now, filmmakers are still
interested in screening dramas based on the stories of the victims of violence
and wars that ended many years before.
For
example, in the Egyptian film Al-Bahethat ‘an Al-Horeyya (Searching
for Freedom), one of the three main characters in the movie is a young
Lebanese girl who flees to Paris, after losing the love of her life in the
Israeli invasion of Lebanon, in an attempt to forget the past and start a new
life in another country. However, she never manages to escape from her past as
the images of the bombings, torture, and loss of the beloved ones keep coming
back to her even at the most beautiful moments, turning her into a
sadist-masochist who suffers from serious personality disorders and gets
pleasure from inflecting pain on herself and others.
The
German film Blackout Journey tackles the terrible aftermath of terrorist
attacks, a form of violence that is even scarier and more widespread than wars.
The film revolves around the story of twin brothers, Mio and Valentine, whose
parents were murdered in a terrorist attack when they were children and who are
raised separately in Berlin and the Austrian mountains. Mio’s need for money
to achieve his dream of becoming a professional musician motivates him to apply
for a fund that provides the survivors of terrorist attacks with financial
compensation. However, in order to receive this money, both brothers have to
show up together. The two brothers meet for the first time and go on a journey
to Vienna, throughout which Mio learns that his brother has been suffering from
serious psychological disturbances after the accident, particularly feelings of
guilt and multiple personality disorder. The revelation leads to dramatic events
and destroys the life of Valentine and completely changes the perspective of
Mio.
Such
films make one wonder how much time we need until a war or a tragic terrorist
attack is truly forgotten and its victims are capable of leading stable, normal
lives. If the Second World War, which ended almost 60 years ago, is still a
concern for today’s artists, how long will it take us to forget the three Gulf
Wars? How many years will have to pass until the suffering of the Palestinians
and other Arabs is forgotten, if it can ever be forgotten? And will we still see
films about the Sudanese civil war, the September 11 attacks, or the Israeli
invasion of Lebanon in 50 years’ time?
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Mohammad
Shawky is a fresh graduate of the American University in Cairo with a degree
in management. He is passionate about education and learning, social
development, performing arts, and creative writing.
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