El Desconocido Leads Reincarnation of Foreign Films in Egypt

Spanish movie El Desconocido (The Retribution, 2015), directed by Dani de la Torre, captivated Egyptian audiences keeping them on the edge of their seats in fear of a bomb imminently going off and killing the protagonist.

The film follows a bank executive who receives an anonymous phone call informing him that he has just a few hours to acquire a large amount of money or a bomb under his car seat will go off. The scenario is further complicated by the fact that his children are in the car.

In spite of the slightly predictable scenario, El Desconocido, filmed by Spanish Cinematographer Josu Inchaustegui, astounds with essentially state-of-the-art cinematography that certainly qualifies it as award-worthy.

Formulaic, however with an abundance of twists keeping one thrilled throughout, El Desconocido also astonishes with regards to each performance delivered, from the competent acting skills of Carlos, the main character played by renowned Spanish Actor Luis Tosar, to his toddlers.

Tosar demonstrates a rather eclectic array of emotions seated in a car… throughout the entirety of the movie. Competent, emotive, and scenic.

Managing to keep things fairly grounded, director Dani de la Torre achieved realism that assisted in building up tension.

The language certainly adds more to the geniality of the movie, but the competency at which the movie was executed further proves how unrecognized and undervalued a number of foreign productions are.

El Desconocido furthermore strikes a chord with regards to reconnoitering interactions amid detached families.

Verifying that not only does family, oftentimes, come closer subsequent to tragedy, The Retribution corroborates that misfortunes also strengthen disoriented bonds.

In other words, El Desconocido attempts communicating a memo: What does not kill one family, makes it stronger.

El Desconocido was the contribution of Spain to the third edition of the Ibero American Film Week, a partnership with the Latin American, Spanish, and Portuguese embassies in Cairo, to feature 13 films from 13 countries at Cinema Zawya in Downtown Cairo.

It helped Spain land first place in the bravura Latino lineup at the event.

Shady El Mashak, Cultural Attaché’s Assistant of the Spanish Embassy in Cairo, affirmed that apart from the general public, Cinema Zawya manages to build an unambiguous category of follower audience that has a special interest in exploring cinema productions that are beyond the commercial.

With seemingly arbitrary film choices, the Ibero Film Week sets its focus more on showcasing diverse productions in an attempt to demonstrate how undervalued their productions are, rather than convey a certain note to the Egyptian audience.

“The Ibero American Embassies in Egypt have a great interest in showing their cultural productions, and cinema is a very effective medium for this purpose,” added El Mashak.

“We’re trying to deliver good samples of the current productions in our countries,” said Brazilian Ambassador in Egypt, Marco Antonio Diniz Brandão.

Cinema Zawya is known for being he first art-house cinema in Egypt, and the event received an array of audiences from all over the world.

“The Ibero American Film Week is going very well. It is being very well received by both the Egyptian and foreign audiences,” El Mashak stated.

On behalf of the embassies, El Mashak added that making the screenings free of charge is a guarantee that everyone, if interested, would be able to attend and enlighten themselves with the productions.

“Any chance at me reminiscing the good old days back in my homeland, I would certainly go for. Nostalgia hit me hard when I saw the movie in theatre today because at some point you get bored of watching movies in your mother tongue on your laptop at home. You just feel right at home when you view one at the theatre,” said Aaron Cesc, a Spanish audience member who has lived in Egypt for seven years.

Egyptian viewers, too, had special interest in watching these films.

“I teach Spanish courses and I’m interested in general in the Spanish culture. Being able to watch a Spanish movie on the big screen is an experience I’ve always wanted to have. The second I fell upon the event on Facebook I had to free my schedule so I would be able to make it today,” said 27-year-old Salma Essam

Twenty four -year-old Ahmed Said adds to that, explaining that he believes foreign productions are underrated in Egypt and are, sorrowfully, not recipients of sufficient public exposure. Said believes the Ibero Film Week sets a worthy opportunity for anyone interested in filmmaking, like him, because it would expose them to an array of diverse styles of cinematography.

“Honestly, it’s enlightening,” said Said.

Between theatrical releases and special events, Zawya has screened an alternative selection of films from different parts of the world, including short films, documentaries, feature films and experimental work.