Namir is a French filmmaker of Egyptian origin. One day he watches a videotape of the Virgin Mary's apparition in Egypt with his mother who, like millions of other Copts, (Egypt's Christians) sees the Virgin on the screen while he sees nothing. Skeptical about the videotape, Namir travels back to Egypt, to make a film about the bizarre occurrence of these apparitions.
Namir's mother is a Coptic Christian. She is convinced that she can see an apparition of the Virgin Mary on a video tape originating from her home in Egypt. Her son, who has been raised in a secular environment in France, decides to make a film about the phenomenon and travels to Egypt to visit his relatives. Hoping to understand the connection between appearances of the Virgin to the Copt minority and recent events in Egyptian history he soon discovers plenty of obstacles. Firstly there are his parents who interfere in the film and criticise his ideas; then there's his French producer who wants to change the film every few weeks and finally, the inhabitants of his family's Coptic village. Desperate, Namir decides to create his own version of the Virgin Mary's appearance. To realise his plan he will need to enlist the aid of the villagers and his mother; the latter soon joins him in Egypt and proves to be remarkably capable. A humorous fictional documentary and family-drama-cum-culture-clash about religion in the diaspora, the art of cinema and the boundless creativity of the filmmakers. Making good use of his mother as the film's wonderful main protagonist, this directorial debut charmingly and wittily exposes the manipulative aspects of documentary filmmaking.
France / Qatar / Egypt 2012
by Namir Abdel Messeeh / Feature Documentary / France / 2011 / 85 min / Color / HDCAM In Arabic, French / English, Arabic subtitles
DIRECTOR Namir Abdel Messeeh
Interests: Religion, Family, Identity
Director Namir Abdel Messeeh
Screenwriter Namir Abdel Messeeh, Nathalie Najem, Anne Paschetta
Producer Namir Abdel Messeeh
Editor Isabelle Manquillet
Cinematographer Nicolas Duchene
Cast Namir Abdel Messeeh, Siham Abdel Messeeh
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
Born in France of Egyptian parents, I've always kept close ties with my family in Egypt, ties that are all the stronger because we belong to the Christian minority, the Copts, who are being persecuted more and more each day. I don't share the religious beliefs of my community, and this has been a source of conflict between my family and me for a long time. In Egypt, as is often the case in Arabic countries where religion is part of one's identity, it's impossible to argue about religious beliefs. But it is precisely because this question of believing is at the very core of my relationship with my family and appears to be indissociable from what we are, how we define ourselves, I wanted to make a film about religious beliefs and more specifically about that of the Copts in the apparitions of the Virgin Mary. I wanted to investigate what still ties me to this community where I no longer live and with which I no longer share the religious beliefs. But a film can sometimes take one where you least expect it to. The relationship with my producer, my mother's opposition, the Egyptian revolution have made me discover what I really wanted to recount: the path I've followed as a filmmaker, my relationship with my mother and the inhabitants of my village, my ties to Egypt. The goal was not to make a film about myself, but rather to use my persona as a filmmaker as a vector, as a means for those around me to reveal who they are.
OWEDA FILMS - DOHA FILM INSTITUTE present a film by Namir Abdel Messeeh La Vierge, les Coptes et Moi
I wanted to show the poor country folk of Said where my family is from. People who never draw the attention of the media, and for whom the revolution doesn't mean much - their conditions for just staying alive being extremely precarious. But these people are rich with humor, with a joy of life and a generosity that irremediably ties me to them. I also and above all wanted to recount something profound about Egypt: the relations between Christians and Muslims, the role of women in society, the manner in which political powers use religion to maintain their positions, all while keeping it light, amusing. This is my first feature-length film. I've tried a lot of things, some with success, others with failure. With this film I've sought to walk the line between fiction and documentary, mixing scenes captured live with scenes tightly written, sometimes reshooting scenes that had already taken place with some of the characters and sometimes filming other scenes without their knowing it. The production of this film was very complicated, most likely due to a lack of resources, but also because of my determination to find a way to write the script progressively, as the shooting and editing work advanced. But I have had incredible luck because I have been surrounded by a team of extraordinary technicians who trusted me and backed me up. Tell me they were right to do so!!!
INTERNATIONAL SALES Doc & film international 13 rue Portefoin 75003 Paris France Tel + 33 (0) 1 42 77 56 87 Fax + 33 (0) 1 42 77 36 56 sales@docandfilm.com www.docandfilm.com Daniela Elstner + 33 6 82 54 66 85 d.elstner@docandfilm.com alice damiani + 33 6 77 91 37 97 a.damiani@docandfilm.com Hwa-Seon Choi + 33 6 59 21 70 00 hs.choi@docandfilm.com
PRODUCTION Oweda Films Namir Abdel Messeeh Pantin, France +33 1 46216168 petitnamir@gmail.com
DISTRIBUTION (France) Sophie Dulac
FESTIVALS
Doha Tribeca Filmfest * World Premiere www.dohafilminstitute.com/filmfestival/films/the-virgin-the-copts-and-me
DE Namirs Mutter ist eine koptische Christin. Sie ist überzeugt, dass sie auf einem Video aus ihrer ägyptischen Heimat eine Erscheinung der Jungfrau Maria gesehen hat. Ihr Sohn, der säkular in Frankreich aufgewachsen ist, will über das Phänomen einen Film drehen und reist zu seinen ägyptischen Verwandten. Er will den Zusammenhang zwischen der ägyptischen Zeitgeschichte und den Marienerscheinungen der koptischen Minderheit aufzeigen. Doch es gibt diverse Hin der - nisse: seine Eltern, die sich in den Film einmischen und seine Ideen kritisieren, sein französischer Produzent, der alle paar Wochen Änderungen vorschlägt, und nicht zuletzt das koptische Heimatdorf selbst. In schierer Verzweiflung beschließt Namir, seine eigene Marien er - schei nung für den Film zu inszenieren. Aber dazu braucht er die Hilfe der Dorfbewohner und seiner Mutter, die, eigens angereist, am Set un geahnte Fähigkeiten offenbart. Eine dokumentarische Familien- und Culture-Clash-Kömodie über Religion in der Diaspora, die Kunst des Filmemachens und die Kreati - vi tät der Mitwirkenden. Mit seiner Mutter als wunderbarer Haupt dar - stel lerin entlarvt der Regisseur in seinem Langfilmdebüt die filmischen Manipulationen des Dokumentarfilms mit Humor und Charme.
Frankreich/Katar/Ägypten 2012, Länge 85 Min. · Format HDCAM · Farbe
Regie: Namir Abdel Messeeh Buch: Namir Abdel Messeeh, Nathalie Najem, Anne Paschetta Kamera: Nicolas Duchene Schnitt: Sebastien De Sainte Croix Ton: Julien Sicart, Gwennole Leborgne, Roman Dymny Musik: Vincent Segal Co-Produktion Doha Film Institute, Katar
DARSTELLER mit Siham Abdel Messeeh, Namir Abdel Messeeh
PRODUKTION Oweda Films Pantin, Frankreich +33 1 46216168 petitnamir@gmail.com
WELTVERTRIEB Doc & Film International Paris, Frankreich +33 1 42775687 sales@docandfilm.com
Summary for official catalogues
Namir is a French filmmaker of Egyptian origin. One day he watches a videotape of the Virgin Mary's apparition in Egypt with his mother who, like millions of other Copts, (Egypt's Christians) sees the Virgin on the screen while he sees nothing. Skeptical about the videotape, Namir travels back to Egypt, to make a film about the bizarre occurrence of these apparitions.
by Namir Abdel Messeeh / Feature Documentary / France / 2011 / 85 min / Color / HDCAM - In Arabic, French / English, Arabic subtitles
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