Al Gami’ya

What Comes Around
‘One big family’ is how protagonist Um Ghareeb describes the ‘al Gami’yas’ in Rod El Farag, one of Cairo’s poorest districts. In these communities, which comprise several members of the quarter's inhabitants, everyone regularly contributes a small amount of money into a pot. At weekly meetings, a collective decision is made as to who is currently the neediest, or who will receive some cash in order to purchase something they really need. Reem Saleh spent six years following the members of one such community with her camera. She reveals their daily struggle for survival and lets them have their say when it comes to their attitudes to tradition, sickness and death. Whilst some of these testimonials, such as the thoughts of one girl named Dunia on female genital cutting, are disturbing and leave questions unanswered, women who rule the roost at home in their families are also featured. The film’s understated use of music and the proximity and participatory nature of the camerawork allows Saleh to create an intimate portrait of mutual support and solidarity in an inhospitable world poised, quite literally, between the railway tracks.
by Reem Saleh Lebanon / Egypt / Greece / Qatar / Slovenia 2018 Arabic 79’ World premiere | Documentary form

Crew

Written and Directed by Reem Saleh
Cinematography Tarek Hefny
Editing Redzinald Simek
Music Mirza Tahirovic
Sound Design Esad Rebihic
Assistant Director Alaa Mosbah
Production Management Alaa Mosbah
Producers Reem Saleh, Konstantina Stavrianou 
Co-Producers Rena Vougioukalou, Bojan Mastilovic
Co-Production Graal Films Athen
Iridium Film Ljubljana

Produced by

Mazameer

Reem Saleh

Born in 1979, she graduated from the Lebanese American University in Beirut with a BA in radio, TV, film and psychology. She began her career as a theatre and film actor, went on to direct a short film and a play and has worked on a number of TV documentaries. In 2006 she moved to Qatar to work as a producer and voice artist for the Al Jazeera Children’s Channel.

Filmography

2002 The Naked Eye; short film 2018 Al Gami'ya (What Comes Around)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2018