East of Noon
Spring Grants 2023 - Post-Production Stage
Hala Elkoussy / Feature Narrative / Netherlands, Egypt, Qatar / 105 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Drama
Synopsis
In the ruins of an industrial complex outside time, Shawky (70), an eccentric showman, rules with a mix of performance and fear. His secret cohort Jalala (75), provides relief to the enclave’s inhabitants with stories of the Sea, which no one else has seen. In her barter shop, imagination is the medicine. But Jalala’s grandson, musician Abdo(19), is neither content with fantasy nor harnessed with his fear of Shawky. He wants to explore what there is out there for “real”. To this end, he uses his musical abilities to devise an escape plan.
He finds an unlikely partner in Nunna (25), the local courtesan and storyteller in waiting, who wants to escape to give her unborn child a better life. While Nunna only thinks of her own escape, Abdo’s plan involves breaking the walls instead of just fleeing. He concocts the idea to slowly make people believe a treasure is hidden underground. He finally puts together a message sampled in Shawky’s voice urging everyone to dig out the treasure. The area is brought into the limelight. When no treasure is found, mayhem ensues. Shawky succumbs. But outside forces take over control, putting an abrupt end to Abdo’s plan, but his dream catapults everyone to a world of fantasy like no other.
Credits
- Director
- Hala Elkoussy
- Screenwriter
- Hala Elkoussy
- Producer
- Hala Elkoussy (Nu'ta Film), Lonnie van Brummelen (VRIZA), Marc Thelosen (seriousFilm)
- Production Company
- Nu'ta Film, VRIZA, seriousFilm
About the Director
Hala Elkoussy is a visual artist who works across a variety of media, including photography, video, installation, and sculpture. Elkoussy has produced several short films that were screened in exhibitions and film festivals around the world. Her artwork features in the collections of Tate Modern and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, among others. 'Cactus Flower', her first feature film, premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. It received the Best Actress Award at the Dubai International Film Festival and Special Jury Award at Aswan International Women’s Film Festival. In 2020 she won De Verbeelding Grant in the Netherlands to realize 'East of Noon'.