The long road to the screen
Independent cinema in Egypt is definitely a vibe, but it’s highkey challenging to get projects off the ground. Filmmaker Mohammed Hammad is back after his 2016 hit Withered Green with his new feature, Safe Exit. After a four-year project, Bullets & Bread, was shut down by censors, Hammad almost hit a wall. He told Variety that it took advice from legendary director Daoud Abdel Sayed to get his head back in the game and start writing Safe Exit.
Making the movie work
Since local studios weren't exactly lining up to back a movie covering such heavy topics, Hammad and his producer Kholoud Saad took matters into their own hands. They founded Pariedolia Productions and completely self-funded the film. It was a massive grind, from securing shooting permits to navigating tense discussions with the censorship office.
The characters
The film explores life on the margins of society through three main characters: Samaan, a Coptic man struggling with PTSD after his father was killed in Libya; Fatimah, a homeless, illiterate woman; and a third character, Abdullah, an Islamic terrorist. Hammad wanted his lead actors, Marwan Waleed and Noha Foad, to have real chemistry, so they spent nine months in rehearsals—including just hanging out in Downtown Cairo—before even touching the script.
Why it matters
Safe Exit is proof that if you have main character energy and a vision, you can push through even when the industry is trying to gatekeep your story. By balancing dark themes with necessary comic relief, Hammad is proving he’s a force to be reckoned with in Egyptian indie film, no cap.
