The Unforgotten Past in the Cairo Film Festival

The German film Blackout Journey

While I was covering the Cairo International Film Festival, I kept thinking about Carlyle’s statement and realized that such tragic events of the past do not only cause turmoil in the lives of those experiencing them, but also provide artists with a rich material that has great potential for captivating the audience. The significant impact that past events have on our lives was a recurrent theme throughout many of the films taking part in festival, where the influence of the past on the present and future of individuals and entire nations was intensively tackled and explored in a variety of forms and styles.

The Tragedies of the Past

In the French movie Le Cou de la Giraffe (The Giraffe’s Neck), for instance, the realization of a 9-year old girl that her grandmother is still alive, contrary to what she has been told by her family, turns the life of the entire family upside down and brings the long-forgotten past with all its pain and suffering up front. Another vivid example of the same concept is in the Greek movie Dust, where Chronis, a Greek journalist leading a happy normal life with a great family of his own, has been receiving a pension from the Greek government in return for his father’s faithful service in the regular army during the Greek civil war. One evening, as he is watching a documentary about the war, he sees a shot of his father fighting on the rebel side, a scene that shakes his whole life. Suddenly, he suspects everything he has believed for his entire life and starts an investigation to find the truth about the reality of his father.

Wars Are Never Forgotten

Due to their complex nature and unbeatable consequences that last for a lifetime, wars are considered the worst experiences a person can go through, even long after they are over. The wide impact they have on individuals, families and entire nations makes them much harder to forget. Until now, filmmakers are still interested in screening dramas based on the stories of the victims of violence and wars that ended many years before.

For example, in the Egyptian film Al-Bahethat ‘an Al-Horeyya (Searching for Freedom), one of the three main characters in the movie is a young Lebanese girl who flees to Paris, after losing the love of her life in the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, in an attempt to forget the past and start a new life in another country. However, she never manages to escape from her past as the images of the bombings, torture, and loss of the beloved ones keep coming back to her even at the most beautiful moments, turning her into a sadist-masochist who suffers from serious personality disorders and gets pleasure from inflecting pain on herself and others.

The German film Blackout Journey tackles the terrible aftermath of terrorist attacks, a form of violence that is even scarier and more widespread than wars. The film revolves around the story of twin brothers, Mio and Valentine, whose parents were murdered in a terrorist attack when they were children and who are raised separately in Berlin and the Austrian mountains. Mio’s need for money to achieve his dream of becoming a professional musician motivates him to apply for a fund that provides the survivors of terrorist attacks with financial compensation. However, in order to receive this money, both brothers have to show up together. The two brothers meet for the first time and go on a journey to Vienna, throughout which Mio learns that his brother has been suffering from serious psychological disturbances after the accident, particularly feelings of guilt and multiple personality disorder. The revelation leads to dramatic events and destroys the life of Valentine and completely changes the perspective of Mio.

Such films make one wonder how much time we need until a war or a tragic terrorist attack is truly forgotten and its victims are capable of leading stable, normal lives. If the Second World War, which ended almost 60 years ago, is still a concern for today’s artists, how long will it take us to forget the three Gulf Wars? How many years will have to pass until the suffering of the Palestinians and other Arabs is forgotten, if it can ever be forgotten? And will we still see films about the Sudanese civil war, the September 11 attacks, or the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 50 years’ time?

 Mohammad Shawky, A graduating senior in The American University in Cairo majoring in business administration, but is more passionate about education& learning, social development, performing arts, and creative writing.