EGYPT: Controversial feature film 'Dunia', dealing with female circumcision, is finally released a year late to limited number of cinemas in Cairo

Record ID: 1531701

  • Title: EGYPT: Controversial feature film 'Dunia', dealing with female circumcision, is finally released a year late to limited number of cinemas in Cairo
  • Date: 28th December 2006
  • Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (DECEMBER 20, 2006) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF RIVOLI CINEMA IN DOWNTOWN CAIRO, WITH POSTER OF "DUNIA" DISPLAYED CLOSE OF POSTER OF "DUNIA" INSIDE CINEMA, AND PAN OUT TO PEOPLE EXITING SCREENING MAN BUYING TICKET AT COUNTER AND THEN ENTERING CINEMA (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RIHAM, WHO ATTENDED SHOWING OF "DUNIA", SAYING: "I only knew about it when I walked past the poster of the film. But I didn't see any advertising on television. And I was very surprised because I didn't see any advertising for the film." PEOPLE ENTERING THE CINEMA (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) TAREK, WHO ATTENDED SHOWING OF "DUNIA", SAYING: "It speaks about the meaning of love which is different from what many people think. Many people don't understand the meaning of love. There are some people who equate it with sex, there are some people who think it has to do with marriage. It [the story] treats this problem entirely. And the difference of love in Arab poetry." PEOPLE AT TICKET CHECK AND ENTERING CINEMA CINEMA EMPLOYEE TAKING TICKETS (SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) WALAA, WHO ATTENDED SHOWING OF "DUNIA", SAYING "I saw the film and I really liked it. It discussed a situation that had respectable themes, and it had a real purpose, not just for entertainment or to waste time. I left feeling the film was useful for me." PAN OUT FROM POSTER OF "DUNIA" OUTSIDE CINEMA TO EXTERIOR OF RIVOLI CINEMA
  • Embargoed: 11th January 2007 23:32
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
  • Reuters ID: LVA7BL74DQW8K5DE97AHPI1THZVL
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: The controversial feature film "Dunia - Kiss Me Not on the Eyes", a sensual love story that deals with the subject of female circumcision, finally came out in a limited number of cinemas in Cairo last week after campaigners against the film held up its release for over a year.
    The film, by Lebanese director Jocelyn Saab, follows the story of an aspiring dancer in contemporary Cairo who falls for a poetry professor 20 years her senior, and struggles to overcome the trauma of having undergone "Khitan" -- female genital mutilation (FGM) or circumcision -- as a child.
    After taking a battering from opponents of the film, the Arab Distribution Company for Cinema, which is distributing the film, opted for a low-key release, forcing Saab to do most of the publicity for the film herself.
    Forced to improvise, Saab plastered billboards for the film on a rented pickup truck and drove around Cairo for four days before the film was released, distributing fliers to anyone who would take them. Saab was aided in her grassroots campaign by several homeless children who she hired to help hand out fliers.
    "Dunia" premiered at the Cairo Film Festival in 2005 and was feted abroad at major festivals, but a combination of pressure from conservatives and religious groups and the hesitancy of government censors delayed its scheduled debut.
    A tireless campaign by Saab and her supporters in the Middle East and Europe to get "Dunia" released finally paid off however and after missing another scheduled release date on November 8th, it was released on December 20th, albeit in only 17 of the 50 cinemas that originally planned to show it.
    Saab says that the film was attacked because it is being released at a time of intellectual repression.
    "This film has dancing, singing, music, pleasure, it talks about ecstasy, and it happened at the most difficult possible time. Why? Because it happened at a time when the greatest intellectual "Khitan" (circumcision) is happening. And that's the circumcision of 'A Thousand and One Nights' and 'A Thousand and One Nights' is the original story. This is "Dunia", and that's the reason the film has caused this movement - because it speaks about intellectual circumcision and physical circumcision," she said.
    Despite having to do much of the publicity alone, Saab considers it a victory herself and the distribution company that the film was even released, especially in advance of the coming Eid Al-Adha holiday, a three day religious holiday that is typically a time when Egyptian films make big money at the box office.
    Much of the original opposition to the film was due to a graphic scene in which "Dunia" undergoes female genital mutilation (Khitan), and Saab credits a recent religious conference in which FGM was condemned by the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Mohammad Sayyed Al-Tantawi, for giving the government the cover it needed to let the film be released.
    "Honestly censorship represents society. And the censors were afraid and hesitating because there is a kind of fear in society. So the censors were afraid, and there are censors who are extremists, who said that circumcision is permissible. No, circumcision is not permitted. They were waiting for a "fatwa" (religious ruling) and once it happened that was it," she said.
    Despite a ban in many countries, including Egypt, up to 130 million women have undergone female circumcision or female genital mutilation (FGM) as it is also known, and 6,000 girls are subjected to it every day, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
    While the film also has two highly bankable stars, Egyptian Actress Hanan Turk as Dunia and Egyptian singer and leading man Mohammad Mounir as Dr. Beshir, neither has opted to promote the film, reportedly in response to pressure from conservative groups.
    The government censors maintain that the film was not being held up for political reasons but because Saab, as a foreign national, was required to pay 40,000 U.S. dollars (USD) in taxes for the film. Saab, however, says that Egypt has agreements with Lebanon and France, where she is syndicated, that allow her to work in Egypt without paying the fee.
    While the initial response to the film has been positive, the lack of advertising may hurt it initially at the box office. One young woman who saw the film, said she found out about it by chance.
    "I only knew about it when I walked past the poster of the film. But I didn't see any advertising on television. And I was very surprised because I didn't see any advertising for the film," said Riham.
    Saab says the film was opposed because of the themes it deals with - free expression, sexuality, and the position of women in society. As an independent film that deals with serious themes, it is also a challenge to the film industry in Egypt, she says, which produces mostly light-hearted comedies intended for mass consumption.
    A young man who saw the film, Tarek, said he had found the themes a welcome challenge.
    "It speaks about the meaning of love which is different from what many people think. Many people don't understand the meaning of love. There are some people who equate it with sex, there are some people who think it has to do with marriage. It [the story] treats this problem entirely. And the difference of love in Arab poetry," he said.
    There have been some recent indications that the Egyptian film industry is prepared to take on more controversial fare. Earlier this year a feature film called "The Yacoubian Building", which deals with political repression and sexuality in contemporary Egypt, was widely released to critical acclaim.
    Another young woman who saw the film, Walaa, said the film was a refreshing break from what is usually on offer.
    "I saw the film and I really liked it. It discussed a situation that had respectable themes, and it had a real purpose, not just for entertainment or to waste time. I left feeling the film was useful for me," she said.
    Saab, who has worked as a war reporter, began directing independent documentaries in the Middle East and later moved into fiction, releasing her first feature film in 1985.
    Her debut film, "Suspended Life" was selected for the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes International Film Festival. "Once Upon a Time in Beirut" followed in 1995.
    Today Saab lives between Paris and Cairo, where she filmed "Dunia".
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