Luxor African Film Festival. Day 4 coverage

The film was screened at the cultural centre at 7pm on Friday 24^th February and there were big local crowd watching the film along side with the film makers from different African countries.  

Asmaa, The 2011 production was a success from the moment it was written as the subject itself is a taboo in the Egyptian cinema. The film makers were trying to get a message when could be summarised in the sentence that the main character Asmaa which was played by the talented actress Hend Sabry said at the end “I am not going to die of what I have but you are going to die of what you have”. Asmaa was in fight with ignorance and prejudging in the society and the film maker wanted the viewer to get the message that the HIV itself might not kill but ignorance will definitely does.    

Asmaa left the colorful comfort of her rural home for the city and is now struggling to raise her teenage daughter and nurse her aging father. The young woman is careful around her neighbors and colleagues; for fear that her reputation will be sullied. She suffers from a gall-bladder problem, but no doctor is willing to operate because she has a secret: she is HIV-positive.

Amr Salama

He won critical acclaim for his debut feature, On a Day Like Today, in 2008. Salama has directed several commercials, music videos, documentaries and short films. He is the book author of A Kiosk Guy, A Journey in Search of the Handlebars, and is one of the filmmakers behind the documentary Tahrir 2011: The Good, the Bad and the Politician (2011). Asma'a is his second feature.

Director: Amr Salama
Producer: Mohammed Hefzy, Bushra Rozza
Screenwriter: Amr Salama
Cinematographer: Ahmad Gabr
Art Director: Hend Haider
Editor: Amr Salah
Sound: Ahmad Adnan
Production Company: Film Clinic
Co-Production Company: New Century
Cast: Hend Sabry, Maged El Kedwani, Hani Adel, Ahmad Kamal, Sayed Ragab, Botros Ghali, Fatma Adel