Experimental Summer (2017)

• 67%
• 2017
• Documentary
• Drama
• Mahmoud Lotfy
• Zainab Magdy
• Essam Esmail
• Mahmoud Eissa

"Experimental Summer" is a fantasy journey into the world of filmmaking, which follows Mahmoud and Zainab in their search of the original version of the first Egyptian independent film, Experimental Summer produced in the year 6220 of the Ancient Egyptian Calendar. All copies of the film were either destroyed or confiscated by the Government Film Agency, an institute that governs the production and distribution of any film at the time. And In response, Egyptian filmmakers created their own versions of the film all under the name "Experimental Summer", in commemoration of the early independent filmmakers. The importance of "Experimental Summer" not only comes from it being the first independently produced film, but also because of its alternative and guerilla form of distribution. To fight the Government Film Agency the filmmakers screened the film in café's, window shops and video clubs without any state permits. In their search the two friends find that twenty-three different versions existed, all of them shot in winter and following a girl hearing answering machine messages. But despite their journey they cannot confirm that the original version was shot in winter, but it can be assured it was produced before the invention of the answering machine. The search continued for many years, and while unaware of it, Mahmoud and Zainab are also making their version of "Experimental Summer", in continuation of the legacy. The film is a tribute, a fantasy, a creative homage to the independent filmmakers in a state where the production and distribution of films is controlled and censored by the government Film Agency.