Cinema Updates

Sunday June 26, 2011
V-MAX (Italian with English subtitles) at the Italian Institute of Culture in Zamalek at 6.00 PM (rerun at 8.00 PM)

Directed by Daniele Vicari. Starring Valerio Mastandrea, Alessia Barela, Cristiano Morroni, Ivano De Matteo
Drama, running time 111 min. – Italy 2002

Claudio is 17 and his one ambition in life is to be a car mechanic. His father runs a car demolition business and wants his son to take over the reins. Conflict is inevitable and violent. Stefano, 35, who owns a car workshop and needs an apprentice, hires Claudio. Stefano, a fan of nocturnal and illegal car races through the deserted streets of suburban Rome, sees the boy’s innate talent for engines. He can literally do magic with his hands. Stefano asks the boy to soup up an old Ford, turning the car into a racing machine guaranteed to make Fischio, Stefano’s eternal racing rival, less sure of himself.

At the races, Claudio meets Giovanna, a young woman who dreams of a better life, but Stefano, meanwhile, is experiencing some serious money problems, and sees his apprentice’s love affair as a serious obstacle to his (Stefano’s) achieving his goals…


Tuesday June 28, 2011
HEREAFTER (English with Arabic subtitles) (Runtime: 129 min) at the Cairo Opera House open air theater at 7.30 PM.

Directed by Clint Eastwood
Featuring Matt Damon, Cécile De France , Bryce Dallas Howard
Synopsis: A drama centered on three people, a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy, who are touched by death in different ways.

Wednesday June 29, 2011
"Any way the wind blows" (Dutch with English subtitles) at the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC). 1, Dr Mahmoud Azmy St, Zamalek. 6:00 PM.
Synopsis: Any way the wind blows (2005, 127 min.) shows impressions of a summer’s day in the stormy lives of 8 inhabitants of Antwerp that intersect in that night’s wild party. Directed and written by Tom Barman, the frontman of Flanders’ most successful rockband dEUS, the movie mixes daily-life gloominess, surrealism and dry humour to a powerful cocktail, to be consumed to the strains of the impressive eclectic soundtrack – on the rocks.

Thursday June 30, 2011
EIN SHAMS (Eye of the Sun)
at 7.00 PM at the Italian Institute for Culture

Directed by Ibrahim El-Batout. Starring Hanan Youssef, Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Ramadan Khater.
Drama, 90 min, - Egypt 2008
From once being the capital of Egypt during the Pharaonic era and a sacred location marked by the visit of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, Ein Shams has become one of Cairo's poorest and most neglected neighbourhoods. Through the eyes of Shams, an 11-year-old girl inhabitant of this neighbourhood, the film captures the sadness and magic that envelops everyday life in Egypt. In a series of heart-rending events, the diverse characters of the film showcase the intricacies of Egypt's political system and social structure, and give a glimpse into the grievances of the Middle East region and the complex relationships