IFFR 2011 - Slotted screening of high-profile Egyptian drama 678

With a last-minute added screening of the Egyptian drama 678 which caused much controversy in Cairo in December, Rotterdam was still able to catch up a little on Egyptian current events. 678 dispenses with the myth that Egyptian women can protect themselves from handsome men by wearing a headscarf.

In the loosely fact-based story, we see how one such woman on the crammed bus on her way to work gets her buttocks pinched daily. There is a stir when she proceeds to poke her attackers in the crotch with a pocket knife. A detective wants to track down the woman who escapes unseen every time by placing an informer on every bus. But do you know how many buses there are in Egypt, a colleague objects. No idea, is the reply, but I do know how many informers we have.

Unfortunately, the promised post-screening interview with director Mohamed Diab, who is debuting with this, could not take place. Although the filmmaker had been granted a Dutch visa, he was nevertheless not allowed to leave the country. The 35mm copy of 678 did not come out Egypt, so the Rotterdam audience had to settle for a DVD projection. Which really only added to the special nature of the occasion.

Also still topical is the fact that last December, Iranian director Jafar Panahi and his colleague Mohammed Rasoulof were sentenced in Iran to six years in prison and 20 years of professional prohibition, including for "propaganda against the Islamic Republic". The Rotterdam festival joins the worldwide protest against this conviction. Festival visitors can participate in a photo campaign on the festival website.

In addition, two older films by Panahi and Rasoulof have been revived. Friday's is Panahi's children's film The White Balloon, which may be called a lame choice. Panahi, of course, was not condemned for making children's films. His critical attitude and his great strength as a filmmaker can only be seen properly in his masterpiece The Circle or in the quasi-documentary Offside, in which he stands up for the women of Iran. The White Meadows by Rasoulof is a poetic allegory about a fisherman hoping to turn tears into pearls.