CAIRO (Mona Madkour, Alarabiya.net)
An Egyptian movie featuring homeless children engaged in perverted sexual activities has stirred controversy, and was accused of tarnishing Egypt’s reputation, amid discussions about artistic merit and the portrayal of real life problems.
Ahmed Atef, director and producer of “Al Ghaaba,” -- which translates as The Jungle from Arabic -- told AlArabiya.net that the scenes the audience found shocking were nothing compared to the painful reality of the children’s daily life.
Besides tackling various taboo sexual practices street kids engage in— like incest, homosexuality, rape, and orgies—the movie also focused on the suffering they experience, including selling their blood, searching for food in garbage bins, falling prey to organ-selling mafias, and being killed and mutilated.
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Artistic merit Atef told AlArabiya.net that in the beginning he wanted to choose regular children with acting skills, but found that their performance felt fake. So he decided to use real street kids.
The decision posed its own challenges, he said, since many of the children were not committed to the project and would run away from the shooting location. Atef eventually decided to use street kids who were staying in a rehabilitation center.
"The children were not paid for their roles,” said Atef. “We paid for their accommodation and meals during the filming time, and they were accompanied by a supervisor from the center at all times."
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Atef added that people who say the movie tarnishes Egypt's image have no awareness of reality and are burying their heads in the sand. "The camera doesn't lie,” he said. “If we don't face the painful reality then we no longer have a conscience." |
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Criticism But critic Nader Adly disagreed, telling AlArabiya.net that the scenes in the movie are deliberately provocative and vulgar, and lack any artistic dimension. He said he is not against tackling sensitive issues like incest and violence, but not in such a crude manner.
Adly criticized "the many scenes of blood and excessive violence, which makes it difficult for the viewer to sympathize with these kids, despite the harsh life they lead."
He added that it was important to note that “such issues are not dramatically rejected, especially since Youssef Idris brought up the issue of incest more than 30 years ago,” but that this film is closer to a crude documentary.
He said that by giving the movie an “adult only” rating the movie was able to get into theaters and avoid censorship, but not public controversy.
Atef, the director, said that despite all the harsh criticism, the movie was a success. It has been reviewed by international press outlets and has received distribution requests from the United States, Canada, and France.
"The fact that the movie was shocking and stirred such controversy is proof of its success," said Atef.
(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid). |
