After stumbling upon a story through a link on Facebook about a team of blind footballers from Egypt who arrived in Warsaw and disappeared into thin air after it turned out they could actually see, writer-director
“They literally disappeared into thin air and it turned out they could all see,” Hilal said during a conversation about the Sideshow & Janus Films movie at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International. “I was laughing and everyone in Egypt was laughing.”
Hilal decided to use the premise of this true-life event for his directorial debut Voy! Voy! Voy!, which has not only topped the Egyptian box office since its September release in Cairo, but is also Egypt’s official submission into the Best International Feature Oscar category for 2024.
“It was such a perfect vessel to tell this story about illegal immigration, which is a huge problem, the whole social issue of poverty and the lack of opportunity, which is full in Egypt and it has a political tone and all of that,” said Hilal. “But you’re telling that story with something really funny, because it is funny. It’s inherently funny and I had to make sure because I was struggling when I was writing the tone of the film – should I make this dramatic, should I make this funny – [I realized] it’s a funny story. The film as you see has drama and comedy side by side.”
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Voy! Voy! Voy! tells the story of Hassan, a security guard living an impoverished life with his mother, who dreams of traveling and living abroad. One day, he stumbles on the sport of blind football and cunningly decides to pose as a blind man to join a team close to playing a World Cup tournament in Europe. On his journey, he crosses paths with several characters, including a rising female journalist following the team and a middle-aged coach.
The film’s ensemble cast is led by Mohamed Farrag and also features Bayoumi Fouad, Taha Desouki, Amgad El-Haggar, Hanan Youssef, Mohamed Abdel-Azim and Hagag Abdel-Azim alongside headliner Nelly Karim with a special appearance by Passant Shawky. It is produced by Vox Studios, Mohamed Hefzy’s Film Clinic and Image Nation Abu Dhabi.
Check back Monday for the panel video.
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Source: DLine
