Silent Egyptian film wins an excellence award in Los Angeles’s Indie Film Festival

An Egyptian one-man independent silent film won the Award of Excellence in the recently held Indie Festival in Los Angeles in the United States, reported Daily News Egypt Monday.

Egyptian actor, producer and filmmaker Hesham Abdel Hamid, claims his film entitled “No” is the first silent film to tackle the Egyptian uprising.

“The film deals with oppression of all kinds and not exclusively with the revolution but rather takes it as a starting point. The film is a cry for freedom and against oppression,” explained Hamid, as quoted by the news site.

Hamid explains that the word “No” as used for the title, “symbolizes a cry of protest against all form of discrimination on color, sex or religion,” and added that the film has been welcomed by critics.

“It is well within our rights as human societies to rebel and overthrow oppression,” he adds.

The 72-minute film, embedded with Hamid’s beliefs and views related to politics and the art of cinema, is expected to hit screens widely in Egypt soon.

“The film has been shown on a small scale in Cairo and Alexandria but I plan on screening it when I come back to Egypt from Canada. I hope the state and its relevant institutions do not put constraints on the film and allow it to be shown as is,” said Hamid in an interview with the daily.

Habid expressed gratitude over the featuring of his film in the international LA Indie Festival event which aims to give filmmakers a venue for recognition.

“The film festival may not be the biggest but that makes it even nicer that Egypt is represented in the independent cinema genre which has become almost non-existent in the country,” said Hamid.

Hamid criticizes the Egyptian media saying that he has grown tired of the controlling power in the post-revolution of Egypt saying, “Most of the media is still the same. After clapping and making noise for Mubarak as a saint, they now make the same noise but negatively for Mursi. There is no real credibility.”

Hamid initially posted a tweet in his Twitter account on Monday saying, “Egyptian experimental movie wins at Indie Fest in Los Angeles.”