Documentary, Safaa Fathy, Egypt/France 2013, 93 min., Arabic with English ST
Discussant: Ahmad Badawy
This film screening and the discussion are part of the Arabic film series “Beyond Spring”, organized by Mayadin Al-Tahrir e.V., EUME and the Werkstatt der Kulturen.
After six years of dialysis and because he refused to accept a transplant, the filmmaker’s brother Mohammad died. His kidneys failed because of the Nile water. The Nile is sick. Fifty-two canals dump human and industrial waste into the river, destroying fish, flora and human kidneys. Mohammad believed a donor’s body wasn’t for him to take, that it belongs to God. In Egypt, many believe the same yet organ trafficking is widespread, lucrative and laws prohibiting the organ trade are largely ignored. The story of Mohammad explores body, tradition, religion and family in a modern Egypt confronted with the most rapid changes of its 5000-year history.