CAIRO - The Greek legend says that Icarus' dream was to fly high. He used the wings, which his father made out of wax, to do so. It seems that Egyptian director Mohamed Abdel-Hafez has kept the image of the soaring Icarus in mind, bringing it back to life in a small logo used in the introductory title of his first independent digital film El-Bab (The Door), which is representing Egypt in the official competition of the 34th Cairo International Film Festival, which opens on November 30. “My dream was to create an Egyptian film as good, artistically as any American film and that could easily compete internationally,” says Abdel-Hafez, who is also a doctor specialising in the digestive system and liver complaints and a researcher in the field of speculums. Unlike the young Icarus, who, overwhelmed by the thrill of flying, did not heed his father's warning not to fly high and flew too close to the sun, whereupon the wax on his wings melted and he fell into the sea, Abdel-Hafez's wings are stronger, because they are made of determination and insistence. After working on the hour-and-a-half-long film for a whole year, Abdel-Hafez thought: “Why not enter it in the Cairo International Film Festival?” He called the organisers, who, although the deadline had expired two days earlier, agreed. “I gave them the film and then I was surprised when they called me back to tell me that it had been accepted for the Independent Digital Section of the official competition,” he adds. Abdel-Hafez is an avid reader of books and watcher of movies. The knowledge this has given him stood him in good stead when making his film. “I adore movies and cinema. When I was still at school, I used to do graphics and read many books about directing. That's helped me a lot,” he stresses. “There was no budget, so I had to learn how to make everything by myself. I learned how to make the montage, hold the camera, take a good shot, recording the voices and almost everything in fact,” says the director, who is still only about 30 years old. The Door tells the story of a poor young Egyptian, who suffers a lot in his life until he gets to live with his rich cousin. The cousin treats him well but tells him on no account ever to “ask or try to open this door” (a locked door in the flat). Inevitably, the word “don't” aroused the young man's curiosity. Soon, he becomes obsessed with the idea of finding out what is behind the locked door. The film shows how curiosity can destroy the life of a human being. Through the movie, Abdel-Hafez focuses on the life of young Egyptians-their problems, their sufferings and, for many of them, the futility of their lives. “Being a doctor greatly helped me create my characters. Everyday, doctors get to see many cases and you feel sorry for a lot of them. Some of them are addicts, as I indicate in the film,” he explains. As well as being the director, Abdel- Hafez has written this film and come up with an intelligent theme that is guaranteed to whet the audiences' curiosity, never letting them blink even once for 90 minutes. The Hollywood-like film, The Door, which marks Abdel-Hafez's debut, was produced for only LE500 (less than $100). It is clear evidence that dreams can come true, if only we're prepared to believe. Another surprise is that the film marks the debut for all the actors starring in it: Yasser Abul Ella, Ayman Ezz Eddin, Moustafa Hosni and Amr Abdel-Hafez. They are all friends or relatives of Abdel-Hafez, who gave them instructions and taught them the outlines of the characters. The protagonist of the film is Amr Abdel- Hafez, the brother of the director. “My brother, Amr, astonished me by the way he acted the first scenes of the film. He was great,” he says. The rehearsals took about a month and the film was shot in the apartment of Abdel- Hafez, without sound, then the sound was added after that. As for Icarus, the logo at the beginning of the film reads ‘Icarus Presents The Door'. This is not the name of a production company, but rather one of Abdel-Hafez's dreams. “Icarus symbolises my dream of founding an independent cinema. I want to help people learn the cinema language the right way. I want them also learn how to make good art on the smallest of budgets. A lot of specialists agree and we are working together on the idea,” he comments. As a unique artist-doctor, Abdel-Hafez refuses to make money out of the suffering of his patients. “I also dream of having an association for patients' rights here in Egypt. Patients here always lose their rights and they need someone to help them know their rights. “Listening to a patient pray for me is a marvellous thing. It makes me feel at peace and helps me sleep better. You can't imagine the happiness I feel when helping a patient,” he adds. The director of The Door is, in fact, working on many dreams. He is also preparing for a new graphic feature film, again a high-quality, low-budget affair. “Good or bad, that's not up to me to judge. What is important is that the idea comes true. If you can dream it, you can do it!” he says.
