Memento Mare
A young man happens upon a matriarch in an abandoned building. She recites poems of a sea unknown. The matriarch teaches the young man her stories, igniting his imagination.. According to her, only stories can overcome oblivion. Together, they dream of a sea in a realm beyond material obstacles. This stream of thoughts uplifts them both as they embark into their now shared image of the blue sea, in contrast to their monotonous reality.
Screenplay: Hala Elkoussy
Cinematography: Abdelsalam Moussa
Editing: Adham Yehia
Cast: Menha El Batroui, Ahmed Malek
Producer: Lonnie Van Brummelen, Norah El Khateeb
Production: Nu’ta Films, Vriza, Cats Films
Hala Elkoussy
A visual artist and filmmaker who works in Cairo and Amsterdam. She studied in the American University in Cairo, Goldsmiths college, London and the Rijksakademie Van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam. Elkoussy has produced a number of short films that were screened in film festivals across the world. In 2017, her first feature “Cactus Flower” premiered in competition in the International Film Festival Rotterdam. It went on to win Best Actress Award at Dubai International Film Festival, and Special Jury Prize at Aswan International Women’s Film Festival.
World Premiere
Egypt
Fiction, 2021, Color, 35 min
Arabic
Hala Elkoussy
