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Film still from LIFE OR DEATH: A man and a girl are sitting together.

Tue 02.05.
19:00

  • Director

    Kamal al-Shaikh

  • Egypt / 1955
    75 min. / Digital file / Original version with English subtitles

  • Cinema

    Arsenal 1

    zu den Ticketszu dem Kalender

It's Eid in Cairo. Ahmed (Imad Hamdi) is captivated by the sight of a dress showcased in an elegant store in Downtown. He imagines his daughter wearing it and decides to do his utmost to afford it as her Eid gift. Confronted by the harsh realities of his poverty and sickness, Ahmed falls into despair. When he sends his daughter to get an urgent medication, a thrilling journey begins for her  through the daunting streets of the metropolis. LIFE OR DEATH is a classic masterpiece of Arab cinema that captures the ambivalence of urban modernity and its temporal dimensions in post-independence Egypt. Influenced by neorealist perspectives, Kamal al-Shaikh chose to shoot the majority of the film on the streets of Cairo, endowing it with unique documentary qualities for its time.

Funded by:

  • Logo Minister of State for Culture and the Media