Youssef Chahine | Egypt 1958 | 1h30m | Arabic with English subtitles

Qinawi, a crippled newspaper vendor working in the Cairo train station, becomes infatuated with Hannuma, an engaged beverage seller. When Hannuma rejects Qinawi’s fantasy of their future together, Qinawi’s obsession turns into madness. Hanuma is one of a group of unofficial female vendors who dodge the authorities to sell soft drinks to passengers. She is about to marry Abu Seri, a loud and heavy-handed porter who is trying to form a trade union. Meanwhile, newspapers report on a gruesome murder... Chahine a pioneering Egyptian filmmaker who made his first film in 1950 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at Cannes in 1997 - explores sexuality, obsession, madness and violence in this film, regarded as one of his masterpieces.

Supported by Aya distribution, Film Hub Wales and @BFI Film Audience Network

Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOJpiUZphTE

Shrouk El-Attar (Arabic: شروق العطار‎) is an electronics design engineer who was born in Egypt and has been living in the United Kingdom as a refugee since 2007. She is an activist for refugee rights in the UK, and for LGBT rights in her native Egypt.[1]

El-Attar performs as a belly dancer in an act called "Dancing Queer", to raise funds for legal defense fees for LGBT people in Egypt, and to help with relocation for those persecuted and at risk because of their gender or sexuality.[2]

El-Attar was one of the women chosen by the BBC in 2018 as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in the World.

Screening is part of Africa 3.0

This screening is part of Africa 3.0 a touring package of films that shows obsession as represented in cinema from across the African continent and the diaspora, focused on joy, vanity and infatuation. It

This programme is part of Film Feels: Obsession, a UK-wide cinema season, supported by the National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network. Explore all films and events at www.filmfeels.co.uk