Private Project

A City Without Love

Hanan is a middle-class girl who lives in a city where showing any signs of love has become something hated and taboo, she agrees with her lover, Jamal, to take their first kiss together on Valentine's Day amidst all the complexities and hypocrisy of society and the tight grip of the city. The two agree after Hesitation and fear on a place where no one sees them, and the two almost escape with their kiss, but things do not go as they planned, as they live in the midst of a bitter experience, trying to escape themselves from a big scandal that is greater than the size of the kiss itself.

  • mostafa gerbeii
    Director
  • mostafa gerbeii
    Writer
  • Mohammed hossam
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, romance
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 50 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 18, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    4,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Egypt
  • Country of Filming:
    Egypt
  • Language:
    Arabic
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - mostafa gerbeii

Mostafa Gerbeii, a Cairo-based director and scriptwriter since 2015, transitioned from screenwriting to assistant directing in 2018 and advertising direction in 2019. His latest short film, "Au Revoir!" resonated internationally at festivals like Out of Bounds and Youki. Selected at the Cairo Shorts Film Festival 2022, the film earned a nomination for the Best Youth Arab Director Award. Notably, "Au Revoir!" clinched the Best Music award at the 2022 MANSASAT Film Festival.

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Director Statement

The movie "A City Without Love" tells about society's crisis in accepting and fearing the manifestation of feelings, and how the city affects everyone to become deaf identical copies. The film explains with a simple story how a harmless emotion such as a kiss can enrage a community, and it talks extensively about the issue through its different characters, the setting, and the agglomerated society of the city.
Through the film, the internal crises of each character will be expressed to be reflected in multiple paintings, the hollow feelings of characters and the longing for them in some other characters, and because the eyes are considered the key to the soul and feelings will be highlighted throughout the film so that we know through them the motives, hopes and even internal struggles of many characters in the film.
In the end, the film will reflect the current image of the city without any embellishment or falsification, and it will show the internal fluctuations and contradictions in which society is drowning. The city, in the end, "Hanan" knows the strength of the city and that going against the tide will not be so easy and will not be without consequences.