Salata Baladi Directedby Nadia Kamel
Egypt, 2007 , 105 minutesDescription:
A multilingual, multiethnic documentary about director Nadia Kamel's complex family background। Twenty-first century Egypt, spurred by the rallying cries of a global clash of civilizations, risks drowning in a nationalistic frenzy। Mary Kamel, Nadia's mother, was born in Cairo to a Jewish father and an Italian Catholic mother। She converted to Islam when she married her Egyptian husband Sa'ad. Mary and Nadia join forces to give Mary's grandson, Nabeel, a glimpse into possible alternatives: the family's century-old history of mixed marriages. Like many Egyptians, after a hundred years sprinkled with multiple immigrations, a few conversions and a few mixed marriages, Nabeel is a mix of Egyptian, Italian, Palestinian and Lebanese with some Russian, Caucasian, Turk and Spanish blood as well. From his Muslim, Christian and Jewish descendants, he inherits a track record embracing socialism, fascism, communism, nationalism, feminism and pacifism. But as Mary weaves her way through the family tales, she bumps into her own fears and the continued silence shrouding one branch of the family grows distressingly louder. Mary has been boycotting her Egyptian Jewish family in Israel for 55 long years. Inspired by the fresh perspectives of her 10-year-old grandson, the family breaks arguably one of the most vicious taboos in modern Egypt.Language: Arabic, English, Italian, French, Hebrew (English Subtitles)Directed by: Nadia KamelProduced by: Sharry Lapp, Nadia Kamel, Elda Guidinetti, Richard Copans Written by: Nadia KamelCinematography: Nadia Kamel, Ibrahim El Battout Edited by: Catherine MabilatMusic: Kamilya JubranBio: Nadia Kamel worked as an assistant director for over ten years before her debut feature documentary Salata Baladi. The daughter of journalist parents with a long history of political activism, Kamel grew up in a home steeped in progressive politics and a passion for the arts and popular culture. Born in 1961 in Cairo, Kamel studied microbiology and chemistry at the University of Cairo prior to pursuing a career in film. When Kamel first began to work on her own projects in 2000, she realized that she would need to take the risk of producing her own low-budget films. After nearly five years of working solo, she was joined by co-producers Films d'Ici and Ventura Films in the post-production of this family tale.Previous Festivals/Awards: Locarno Film Festival 2007
