Amr Moussa's Dark Chocolate, which received a special mention at the 40th Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), is the first Egyptian film to be given an award in CIFF's short films official competition since it was founded in 2014. The story of a woman director who conjures up her France-based lover so that she can make a film about his relationship to Zamalek, the Cairo neighbourhood where he was born and spent most of his life, the film also deals with that man's memories and his compulsion to leave everything behind and emigrate. The jury described it as having a “distinctive narrative style in which the imagination and reality beautifully merge”. For Moussa participation in “the leading international film festival in the country” was significant in itself, since young Egyptian filmmakers need such recognition. He is especially proud of the jury's stated reason for the special mention: “I received many comments about how the narrative style of the film is complicated or unusual. But I chose that syle because it is the most representative of the main character's state of mind which is torn between reality and imagination. She is not stable, and the dramatic shift between what is real and what is illusory reflects that. So when the jury declared on stage that it was the narrative style that they were giving me the award for, I felt more confident in my cinematic choice. It is a beautiful feeling when you find others who believe in your choices, especially if they happen to be the jury of such an international event.” But participating in CIFF is not only about winning an award, it is to make your film available to a wider audience. “Short films do not have a market and the only chance for our short films to be seen is in film festivals,” Moussa says, and so it makes him happy to see a short film programme that is increasingly attractive to wider audiences. “All the short film screenings had a full house, even during second screenings. Not only film students but also people of different ages and backgrounds were interested to see and to discuss the shorts with the filmmakers. I attended all the previous round of Cinema of Tomorrow since its start in 2014, and I can say this year is really different. Among the 22 international short films in the competition the three Egyptian films selected represented different styles and this too reflects an improvement among Egyptian filmmakers.” Such developments are not limited to CIFF, either. “Now we can see many short film festivals in Egypt, and a short programme in every film festival. This means short films have become a genre that appeals to the audience. We now have more and more filmmakers who produce short films every year. Some of them are film students at academic institutions but many others are not.” The three Egyptian short films selected for the CIFF competition are not made by Cinema Institute graduates and for Moussa this is another significant fact. “What this means is that we now have more than one source of film education in Egypt which produces filmmakers of a high calibre and they are able to compete in the international film festival of Egypt”. Alaa Khaled, the director of Experiment: Sorry, for example, is a graphic designer who graduated from Nantes University, France. Yasser Shafei, who made Intense Practice to Improve Performance, was a graduate of the Faculty of Applied Arts before he joined the Jesuits Film School. And Moussa himself studied cinema in the film programme of the French University in Cairo. “For my film to win an award at CIFF is not only a source of pride for me but an encouragement to all those filmmakers who are doing their best to learn cinema and make quality movies on a par with the best that people are familiar with even though we have not yet found our place on this market.” Moussa For Moussa, who financed the film out of his own pocket with a little help from his friends, finding a market for the short films is essential. “The only way to encourage producers to spend money on a short film is to enable them to sell and distribute it.” Notwithstanding positive signs, short films are never commercially screened — and so directors like Moussa are forced to finance themselves: “If I was to wait for a producer or a film fund, I am not sure when I would be able to make my film. This is the case with most of my filmmakers colleagues too.” On the surface the film deals with the island of Zamalek, many of whose inhabitants have recently been involved in trying to protect it against encroaching change, but deeper down, he says, it is about the connection between people and places and the choice of staying or leaving, what you gain and what you lose when you make that choice. These topics proved compelling to the crew. Moussa could not calculate the real cost of his film in cash because he had not placed figures on his friends' contributions. “Most of the film crew were not paid but they were eager to work on the film because they believed in the project and they found themselves in the story somehow. One of them was really interested in the issue of Zamalek, the other is facing the question of whether to stay in the country or leave in search of new opportunities, and so on. I believe each one felt he was working in his own project. This is what makes many independent films more authentic compared to commercial films, without compromising quality.” Although it is made by a group of friends the cinematography and soundtrack in Dark Chocolate are of a very high standard. “They are my friends but each of them is a professional in his or her field. The director of photography for example, Haua Khairat, beautifully translated my vision in her cinematography, and the same goes for Wael Arbab, the editor, and the cast.” Although most of the actors are appearing for the first time on screen, they spent up to three months in rehearsals. “They were interacting with the script, written over many months. They were adding to it. For example, some of the dialogue turned to actions instead of words in the rehearsals because they digested the script to the extent that they were able to develop it in a good way.” Unlike commercial films, in which production costs control the filmmaking process, use of the shooting locations was another gift and this allowed the film crew to flexibly rehearse without compromising their commitment in terms of time. According to Moussa, the working atmosphere in the independent scene proves that there are alternative ways to produce films grounded in Egypt. What is missing is an alternative distribution mechanism: “I believe the solution will come once again from the independent scene itself. An alternative market for short films is on its way to becoming a hot topic on the agenda. During the festival days this was the most attractive topic of discussion not only among filmmakers but also among the audience. The only reason most filmmakers think of short films as a step on the way to a feature-length film is the lack of access to a market. The current market only recognises feature-length films although there is no difference in terms of quality.” Moussa, who made three previous shorts before Dark Chocolate, which participated in festivals and won awards, feels that short films can be a lifelong career: “Practically speaking I do not see a reason why I should think of a feature-length film as inevitable. Like other filmmaker colleagues I am really concerned with the destiny of our short films. They should reach a wider audience and they should earn us the minimum required to continue making them.”
