Abu Bakr Shawky

Over 30 filmmakers and friends of Strand Releasing have come together to honor the company’s indelible contribution to independent cinema over the past thirty years. The participating filmmakers have each created a short film for the project, all shot on iPhones.

The Stories is a decades-spanning Egyptian family saga and love story set between the late 1960s and 1980s. The film follows Ahmed, a young man from a Middle-Class Cairo family who dreams of becoming a concert pianist. During the tense summer of 1967, as war looms over Egypt, he begins a pen-pal correspondence with an Austrian woman named Elizabeth (“Liz”). A semi-autobiographical film based on the director's parents and how they met.

A Coptic leper and his orphaned apprentice leave the confines of the leper colony for the first time and embark on a journey across Egypt to search for what is left of their families.

In the world of camel racing, Ghanim is preparing for the Great Race of Safwa. His younger brother, Matar, grew up hearing these poems about their legendary grandfather, known only as "Hajjan," the Arabic word for jockey. But as he follows in his grandfather's footsteps, in a regional qualifying race, foul play interrupts Ghanim's dreams. Matar realizes that the only chance to save himself and his inseparable camel Hofir is to also become a "Hajjan", and enter the world of Bedouin camel racing — where heroes are made.

Filmed in Cairo during Egypt's revolution in 2011, this short documentary captures the dramatic events from the heart of Tahrir Square during the last days of Mubarak's presidency.

A chronicle of Egypt's modern history through the eyes of one middle-class family.