Amal

Director Mohamed Siam wanted to make a film about youth, anger and change, and decided to tell the story of Amal, a 14-year-old girl in Egypt. The result is the coming of age-story Amal, which begins in 2011 with the Arab Spring, and follows Amals experiences of the protests at the Tahrir Square in Cairo. Amal is encouraged by her follow protesters to stay at home because of her gender, but she refuses to be silenced and restrained. Director Siam catches on camera how she furiously throws herself into the revolution and screams at a police officer before she is brutally pulled by her hair across the street.

The documentary follows the country’s development seen through Amal’s eyes over the course of five years. And as the country is changing, so is Amal and her view on the political situation. Amal has become a powerful symbol of a whole generation, which tries to find a place in the junction between the dreams of change from the Arab Spring and the hard reality.

Amal was the opening film at the prestigious documentary festival IDFA in November, and is shown for the first time in Norway during Arab Film Days. The documentary is supported by Sørfond. Amal is co-produced by Ingrid Lill Høgtun from Barentsfilm.

Mohamed Siam is an Egyptian director, producer and cinematographer. He made his documentary debut, Whose Country?, in 2016, which was screened at festivals worldwide. His second film, Amal, had the honor of opening IDFA, the world’s most famous documentary festival. The documentary has received great reviews, and is supported by the Norwegian film fund Sørfond. Amal is co-produced with Ingrid Lill Høgtun from Barentsfilm AS.