It seems that new faces are helping Egypt's film producers and production companies cut the losses they have incurred as a result of the global economic crisis that started a couple of years ago. “They've done it!” said the delighted film producers, as they banged the table with their fists when they discovered that their movies released this year are already doing well at the box office. The producers decided to gamble on the new faces, because the superstars demand extortionate wages these days. The new hot assets in Egyptian cinema are led by actress Randa el-Beheiri, who has starred in the two films Feelings and Living the Moment; and the two young actors Amr Abdel-Galil and Asser Yassin, collaborating with actress Mona Zaki in Walls of the Moon; and comedian Hani Ramzi, the leading actor in The Mysterious Man. Pop singer Zeina has also convinced the film producers of her acting talent, especially after starring in Two Girls from Egypt. Meanwhile, comedian Ahmed Helmi is starring in Egypt My Room, a politically motivated film, also likely to be a box office hit too. Feelings, directed by Hani Girgis and written by Ashraf Hassan, is a controversial odyssey that explores the labyrinthine emotions of women desperate to fulfil their sexual desires with their partners. Living the Moment, directed by Olfat Osman, is about unemployed young Egyptians, who risk their lives in illegally migrating to southern Europe across the Mediterranean. According to the map of Egyptian cinema, this season, the popular films also include Two Girls from Egypt, written and directed by Mohamed Amin, who, five years ago, directed The Evening of the Fall of Baghdad. The film is an adventure story about two girls who want to realise their dreams, regardless of the difficulties lying ahead. Posters splashed on the façades of local cinema houses also highlight the movie Messages from the Sea, written and directed by Daoud Abdel-Sayyed. The film, which is likely to appeal to the psyche and feelings of teenagers, is a hot love story. Actress-singer May Kassab, who is blessed with a delicate, charming face, co-stars in the film. Meanwhile, admirers of Egyptian international superstar Omar Sharif will enjoy watching him in the movie The Traveller, which caused uproar (over its direction technique) at home when it was screened in the Venice Film Festival in Italy. Pretty Lebanese songbird Sherine Abdel-Nour co-stars in The Traveller, whose theme is political and social. The Dealer, starring Ahmed el- Sakka, who's very popular in actionfilms, is also tipped to be a roaring success. In The Dealer, el-Sakka walked before the camera for the first time with Khaled el-Nabawi.
