She charmed everyone with the sweetness of her portrayal of the role of the old estate guard who lives alone, isolated from the outside world, accompanied by numerous pets, and her ability to deal with them within the story of the film in which she participated in the international competition of the 44th Cairo Film Festival, being the only Egyptian film that participated in the competition, and until it won It won 3 awards from the festival at the closing ceremony: Best Arab Film Award, International Federation of Critics Award and the Henry Barakat Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution. It is the artist, Sayed Ragab, who confirmed in his interview with Al-Arabiya.net that the story of the film ’19B’, which won all these awards, impressed him a lot, and he felt the importance of the idea that we all live with, which is loneliness and fear of the unknown.
From the movie poster 19B
What prompted you to participate in this work?
** I am happy to participate in this film, which participated in the Cairo International Film Festival activities, I was hoping to collaborate with director Ahmed Abdallah and I was very impressed with the script. As soon as I read it, it was a bet between myself and myself that I could express those feelings in a broad way, and I felt the importance of the idea we all live by, which is loneliness and fear of the unknown. . I was very happy with my ability to express all the feelings I present through the film and agreed to participate in the film very quickly. I was keen to participate because I saw the details of the estate guard’s personality that I embodied while reading, as the scenery is more than beautiful and full of feeling.
* And what did you find in the character of the estate guard?
** What the character presents in terms of revealing the different worlds and the relationship with the other world, because I have a problem with the other, to the point that I don’t really like traveling. The movie put me in a parallel world away from me, so I wanted to see myself in this movie or in this world. The size in the film was not important to people, which allowed each viewer to imagine the size for himself, but the main idea was the loneliness, isolation and cowardice that the estate guard suffered. I also discovered many personality aspects related to kindness, that he is a peaceful man who fears the other world and solves his problems in different ways. He could be stupid or a liar or acting against what he wants to do. To expel people from the house, he lets the water ruin the house, and he can lie to another man until his affairs are settled.
Syed Ragab of the festival
How did you find the relationship between man and animal in this film?
** I was happy that the film featured the relationship between man and animal. I raised dogs and cats, and my father loved raising animals. Animals, I’ve always looked for a script that highlights the role of pets in people’s lives, given my great love for them.
Was the dog trained for the scenes that brought you together?
** The work required a lot of effort, especially since “Antar”, the dog that appeared with me, was trained and dealt with us for a long time until he appeared like this in the film.
*But didn’t it surprise you that your character in the film doesn’t have a name?
** It didn’t surprise me that my character in the play was nameless, as the character is marginal like what we often see in our lives, there are no fully good and bad characters. Even the “politician” had his circumstances and his motivations: in life he is a marginalized and socially oppressed person, therefore his violence and ferocity in his relationships with others derives from weakness, and therefore one cannot make judgments about him from that tight corner.
Hussein Fahmy and Sayed Ragab at the end of the festival
How did you feel when the film won three awards at the festival?
** I felt so proud and happy to have won the three awards, and the film’s participation in an event the size of the “Cairo Film Festival” is enough, which is one of the oldest and most regular festivals in the Arab world and the Africa. Suffice it is the only festival in the Arab and African region, registered in category A of the Paris International Federation of Producers “FIAPF”, and this is the best proof that Egyptian cinema will remain a pioneer in the world.
* And what is your assessment of the 44th session in the light of the return of the great artist Hussein Fahmy at the helm of the festival?
** The festival is growing and renewing every year, and leads the scene in the world, as it has proven year after year that it still represents a meeting point for filmmakers, critics, writers, thinkers and artists, and the importance of the festival lies in the presence of international films within its programs out of competition. Certainly, these films will be an important cinematic meal, with time, stability and great development Egypt is witnessing in the last stage, and I believe they will be a platform for the return of world stars, such as the director has come Hungarian Bella Tarr this year. As for the great artist Hussein Fahmy, he is of great artistic stature and prowess, and has great balance in major festivals. He is the best successor of Muhammad Hefzy, who made a great and important change for the festival, and Hussein Fahmy is considered one of the pioneers who contributed to the genius of this event, especially since he presided over it from the age of 21, and it continued to develop for four consecutive cycles during his term as president, starting from 1998 until 2001.
What about your new one?
** Currently I am shooting the second part of the series “Ramadan Kareem”, five years after showing its first part which has achieved great success, I am happy to come back to present the new part of the play because it is a social drama which it expresses the Egyptian street and life in working-class neighborhoods, as it is a diary for its characters. .
I also started shooting my scenes in the film “Ibn Al-Haj Ahmed” with Chico, during which I embody the character of Chico’s father. The work takes place in a comic frame and brings many surprises. It is Amr’s idea Salama, and screenplay and dialogues by Muhammad Al-Mohammadi and Ahmed Mohi, directed by Moataz Al-Tuni.
