Exclusive interview with director Zaki El Naggar

CAIRO – 30 July 2017: Renowned filmmaker and director Zaki El Naggar sheds light on societal issues through ambitious short films manufactured artistically within a short budget, urging government encouragement to support varied ideas in the film industry.
Naggar speaks with Egypt Today in an interview conducted on Thursday about his cinematic career and his aspiring projects being produced underway; he explains his techniques in his filmmaking career.

“Each film has a divine message to deliver through tackling a certain case. The movies I produce are usually targeted for audiences and policy makers who could be encouraged to act accordingly to the cases presented,” Naggar told Egypt Today.

Inspired by timing and surroundings, Naggar claims that producing films throughout his life has become an ‘obligation’ he has to meet. The director's ideas reflect his perceptions of the world around him.

Establishing his cinematic career at age 33, Naggar has produced eight French/Arabic short films including Fin De Parade (End of Parade), Pourquoi (Why), Bonjour Tristesse, L Ermite, Point Zero, In Cairo, La Corde (The Rope), 'Goal', and 'Spare Parts.' Some of the films were produced on Naggar’s personal YouTube channel.

Several of the director’s movies have been screened in national and international festivals including Goal which was screened in a festival in Saint Paulo in Brazil, South America, Port Rico, and the National Festival in Egypt.


Goal (Still from film)

“The ultimate purpose of the film was to show that the children in the movie didn’t know their goals and have later discovered what they’re searching for through their friend’s dream and education that helped them determine the purpose of life,” Naggar explained.
Arabic-oriented film 'La Corde' has won the Jury Award in France and Greece and participated in several other festivals.

Social 12-minutes film ‘Spare parts’ have screened during the Cairo International Cinema Festival for cinema and Children’s Arts. The film portrays the life of a street boy who tours Cairo through the entire day and is kidnapped in the end by human traffickers who trade in body organs.


(Spare Parts (Still from film

“I preferred to use only music in this film without dialogue because music expresses words and messages better than actual cinematic dialogue,” Naggar said.

Naggar is currently working on three feature films in the pipeline varying in topics including 'The Groom of the Sea' that revolves around illegal immigration from Egypt to Europe, highlighting the reasons behind youth’s departure to other countries through a simply manufactured scenario.

Another film is ‘Point Zero’ which will be shot between Cairo and Paris, therefore will require a high budget and the third movie that Naggar will be producing is about a police Lieutenant and a group of people who all meet in prison called ‘Game of the Season;’ the sequence of events evolve through one day. A young man and a girl from rural city who love each other come down to Cairo to finish administrative works, and have their coffee at a coffee shop in Tahrir Square. All the characters from the film have different story leads; they all enter a prison cell in the same day when a match between Al-Ahly and Zamalek is taking place.

The film transits from a comedic phase to a tragic sequence of events.

“The two-hour movies are awaiting approval from Culture Ministry and other producers and officials who claim that production has been delayed due to security issues;
however this is not the case. My colleagues and I have been waiting approval for all three movies for three years now,” he added.

Naggar further points out the obstacles in film production usually arouses from delays by mainly officials’ approval, which he describes as the endeavor lacking in the Egyptian cinematic scene saying “Countries develop only through their cinemas and that official should encourage more diversified ideas in the scene.” He added that film budget was rarely a problem because it has decrease by 70 percent over time as technology and techniques advanced.

The filmmaker concludes the interview by advising young rising directors and screenwriters to be patient when initiating original ideas to avoid plagiarizing ideas of other.

“I believe young people today are more knowledgeable and they tend to watch more European movies and anything that is available online that could inspire them,” he added.


Fin De Parade (End of Parade Still from film)