Mahmoud Lotfy
Directing
Biography
Egyptian filmmaker, writer, and producer. He has participated in numerous independent Egyptian films and wrote and directed his feature film Experimental Summer, which was screened at the Forum Expanded section of the Berlin International Film Festival and won the Best Film Award at the Mileto Independent Film Festival in Italy. He has also produced several films, including No One There, Batoul, and A Comb Without Teeth. On the literary front, he published the novel Book of Longing and is currently working on new cinematic and literary projects.
Known For
Ahmed drives through the derelict nightscape of Cairo, anxious to secure money to pay for an abortion for a young woman - a procedure that must take place immediately. He comes across an intriguing group of young people, led by a woman who aims to solve the enigma surrounding a giraffe rumoured to be hidden at the Cairo zoo. As an absurd chain of events unfolds, Ahmed is distracted from his mission
The Giraffe
Both Mahmoud and Zeinab join hands to search for the original version of the first Egyptian independent film that was made back in the 1980s, all copies of which were either destroyed or confiscated for unknown reasons by the government film agency, an entity that governed film production and distribution at the time.
Experimental Summer
Garden City, a small district of Cairo, is far from being without importance. In the early 19th century, it was the center of international political affairs in the Egyptian capital. The film takes us on a tour of these abandoned villas, huge reception halls, foreign embassies, endangered businesses and rooftop terraces. The houses become witnesses as they reveal the turmoil of history. These houses and their residents speak with one voice to describe hope, fall and survival. Far from the politically correct, a piece of truth appears, far from the clichés.