
Clash
Eshtebak
SECTION: Previews at Cinecittà 2017
SCREENINGS
Tuesday, 03.10., 8.00 p.m., Cinecittà
SYNOPSIS
During the riots that broke out after the arrest of President Mohamed Morsi in Egypt, a random group of prisoners in a police van clash over their political and religious views, representing opposing sides of society. Their discussion heats up, as does the situation on the streets. CLASH is a nail-biting cross between an intense and claustrophobic Kammerspiel and a tough political thriller that gives an unadorned view of a deeply shattered and divided society. Cairo, summer 2013: a day of violent protests after the military coup against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. The police arrests people randomly – believers and non-believers, supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood, advocates of the military, journalists and bystanders are stuck together in a van that meanders through the city. Everyone’s nerves are on edge in the unrelenting heat. Terror, violence and chaos are everywhere. There seems to be no place to escape in this disturbing tale of post-Arab Spring Egypt.
MOHAMED DIAB
Born in Ismailia, Egypt in 1978, Mohamed Diab studied filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. He works as a scriptwriter and director. Diab wrote scripts for high-profile Egyptian blockbusters including The Island which was Egypt’s official entry at the Academy Awards Foreign Film category in 2007. In 2010, he directed his feature debut 678. Clash, his second feature film, opened the section Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016.
FILMOGRAPHY
678 (2010), Clash (2016)