An Oscar Nominee, But Unwelcome At Home In Cairo
On a cool Cairo evening, the cast and crew of The Square put on an informal screening of the film for their friends. Many of them are in the documentary, which chronicles three years of political unrest and revolution centered on this city's now-iconic Tahrir Square; all of them experienced some part of the events that unfolded there.
The small audience in this office knows well how the film's story unfolds: First, the protests that led to the ouster of longtime president Hosni Mubarak, then the tumultuous interim period under a military council, followed by the election of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Finally, there's Morsi's overthrow by the military last summer, after huge protests against his rule.
But these viewers are among the few in Egypt who have seen the film; though it's been released in more than 40 other countries, it hasn't received government approval to be shown in theaters here.
"Nobody asked for a permission or a license for the film till now," says Ahmed Awaad, Egypt's head of censorship and the official in charge of vetting films applying for general release.
But members of the cast and crew, including producer Karim Amer, say they have applied — and they've become embroiled in a months-long bureaucratic nightmare.
"The issue has become much larger than we ever expected," Amer says.
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