05 May Egyptian Filmmakers Shine at DOK Munich DOK Forum
IEFTA Alumni Producer Kesmat El Sayed (Egypt) and Director Alaa Eldin el Dajani (Egypt) have been selected for the DOK Munich DOK Forum as part of the Archive pitch section with their new film How Many Nights How Many Days. This is the first time that an Egyptian project has pitched in the archive section. In addition IEFTA helped to support with some financial aid towards the Director Alaa traveling to Munich to pitch the project in person.
Kesmat, a producer and co-founder of a production company spanning from Egypt to Berlin. Her focus is on reviving forgotten stories and challenging prevailing narratives. She delves into the lives of overlooked Egyptian activists, ensuring their legacies are not lost.
Together, Kesmat and Alaa unveil overlooked histories. Through their work, they challenge perceptions, inviting audiences to reconsider the narratives that shape our understanding of the past. This time, they bring to global audiences an Egyptian story with global significance, revisiting themes of colonization and invisible labor.
How Many Nights How Many Days
When Younis Abdalla, a young peasant from Egypt, volunteers to join the Egyptian Labour Corps to serve the British during the First World War, he finds himself taken to the western front in France narrowly escaping a massacre by the very allied forces that recruited him. A film that exposes an untold part of history, laying bare a narrative of resilience, invisibilized labor and colonialism.
Kesmat El Sayed
PRODUCERA producer, and co-founder of SEE MEDIA PRODUCTION and SEERA FILMS Gmbh, independent production companies based in Cairo and Berlin respectively. She started producing films independently in Egypt to focus on stories that are artistically crafted, have social relevance and can reach a global audience. She has produced documentaries for the first time and established filmmakers, while focusing on stories from the past and biographies of political and social activists. She has released three short documentaries and three feature documentaries that have premiered at international festivals and won awards. Eave Alumni 2021, Berlinale Talent 2023, Realness Indaba 2022 EURODOC 2023 Alumni.
Alaa Dajani
DIRECTORAlaa holds a B.A. in Economics from The American University in Cairo (AUC), and an M.F.A in Documentary Film and Video from Stanford University. Alaa is the former assistant director for video production at the office of communications and advancement at AUC. He also teaches film and is a freelance media producer. He has previously produced, directed and edited work for UNDP, oxfam, The American University in Cairo and Al Jazeera. His short documentary “In Circles” was shortlisted for a student academy award while his film “The Art of Jihad” was featured in many festivals in the US. Most recently he was the documentary biography of the scientist Mostafa Moushrafa and editing of the award-winning feature length documentary “Captains of Za’atari”