THE MEMOIRS OF M. A. DRAZ to hold world premiere at Aswan International Women Film Festival

 

Maggie Morgan’s much-anticipated documentary THE MEMOIRS OF M. A. DRAZ is poised to steal the spotlight at the 2024 Aswan International Women Film Festival, which is scheduled to take place from April 20th to the 25th.

 

 

 

 

THE MEMOIRS OF M. A. DRAZ is scheduled to screen at the festival’s Feature-Length Competition at 6 pm on Tuesday, April 23rd, at Tulip Cinema. Following the screening, audiences can look forward to an engaging Q&A session with director and writer Maggie Morgan and esteemed scriptwriter Taghreed El-Asfoury, along with Draz’s son, Mohsen, four of his grandchildren, and the movie’s producer Noha ElKholy, all of whom will delve into the challenges encountered during the movie's production, among other things.

 

 

 

Written and directed by Morgan and co-written with El-Asfoury, THE MEMOIRS OF M. A. DRAZ delves into the fascinating life of Azharite scholar Mohamed Abdallah Draz. Decades after his passing, Noha ElKholy stumbles upon a treasure trove of her great-grandfather's legacy — letters, diaries, and photographs.

 

 

 

 

Through this archive. she pieces together the fragments of M. A. Draz’s life. The journey unfolds from his native village of Mahallet Diyay, to the Azharite Institute of Alexandria, and war-torn Paris.

Decades before Middle Eastern feminists started championing women’s rights, he provided equal support to his daughters and sons in both education and life, ensuring fairness and opportunity for all of them.    

 

 

 

Maggie Morgan reflects on the journey of crafting the film, stating, “One day, my friend Noha ElKholy invited me over. As we sat at her kitchen table, she shared old family photos and letters exchanged between Sheikh Draz and his daughters,” adding that “these elements, along with Noha’s notes and a book gifted by a woman named Samia chronicling her grandfather’s life, drew me into a compelling narrative that begged to be shared. Sheikh Draz's story represents a facet of Egypt unfamiliar to me, offering a glimpse into our heritage and a potential guide for the future.”

 

 

 

 

This is why prominent journalist and academic Ibrahim Issa emphasizes that Dr.  Draz's legacy extends beyond his scientific contributions.

 

 

 

 

Inspired by the example he set, Dr. Draz’s children went on to achieve similarly great things in their time, with Fathi went on to become an ambassador of Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Saeed a professor of surgery at Ain Shams University's Faculty of Medicine, and  Mr. Sami an interpreter at the United Nations in Geneva. Moreover, his granddaughter, Nada, holds the position of Egyptian Consul-General in Chicago.

 

 

 

 

With Sedky Sakr lending his voice to narrate the tale and Khaled Al Kammar weaving his musical magic into the soundtrack, this documentary is not just a film, it's an experience you won't want to miss.

 

 

 

Maggie Morgan is an Egyptian filmmaker, festival programmer, and faculty member at the American University in Cairo.

 

 

She has directed both feature films and shorts, including FROM WITHIN THEIR STORIES (2009), ASHAM (2013), and FROM MEIR TO MEIR, the latter of which received the prize for Best Egyptian Film at the Aswan International Film Festival Special Jury Prize at the National Film Festival, and the Ahmed Bakry Prize at the Al-Quds International Film Festival.