This movie about homosexuality in the Middle East is sparking major outcry in Egypt
Egypt.Bashtaalak Sa’at (Shall I Compare You to a Summer’s Day?) screened at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this month. Written and directed by Egyptian-born Mohammad Shawky Hassan, it delves into gay relationships in Arab society, looking at a number of folk tales through the queer lens.Despite a warm reception at the festival, government officials in Hassan’s native Egypt have already denounced the movie, and are taking steps to make sure it never screens in the country.Arabian-language website Fil Fan reports:The film will not be screened in Egypt for several reasons.
The first is the unwillingness of production authorities to [cooperate] with the regulatory agencies in Egypt, especially since the film includes a large number of intimacy and sexuality scenes between male actors, which is inconsistent with Egyptian censorship laws.
The second reason is that the film was primarily made for screening at film festivals.But that’s just the beginning of the blowback.Other prominent Egyptian nationals have condemned the film.
