Frameline32 Dispatch. 2.

"Sex is political," insisted Maher Sabry, talking about the explicit sexuality of his film All My Life [site; trailer]. "We need to show more sex in order to tell people it's not wrong." The Victoria Theater erupted into cheers and applause.

A former burlesque hall, the historic Victoria was an appropriate venue for the world premier of All My Life, the first Egyptian movie to realistically depict the struggles of homosexuals under the country's dictatorial regime. Sabry was inspired to make the film by actual events in 2001, when police raided the Queen Boat, a gay club in Cairo, and proceeded to torture, imprison and fraudulently charge those arrested that night. According to a recent Human Rights Watch report, the government is using laws against "debauchery" to entrap and imprison hundreds of men.

But Egypt wasn't always oppressive towards homosexuals. According to the report, persecutions began in the 1980s, coinciding with the rise of political conservatives in the government and an increased dependence on foreign aid, primarily military aid from the United States. "Of course, Egypt wasn't fighting a war with anyone, so you know how the aid was used - against the people," Sabry explained. "There is no law against homosexuality in the books, so they always fabricate charges of, say, prostitution, as I show in the film with the character Rami."

Actor Mazen Nassar, who stars as Rami in the film also made an appearance last night. "Making this film was amazing," he told the crowd. "It was three years of blood, sweat, and love." Shot with one video camera and minimal crew on half a shoestring, All My Life still manages to hit its mark. As an anonymous member of the audience told Sabry during the Q&A after the screening, "Thank you so much for this film. I had to leave Egypt for the same reasons as these characters. This is the first time I have seen my life on the big screen."

Although Sabry is exiled from Cairo, he expressed confidence that the film will be shown in underground venues there. "That won't pay my bills," he laughed, "but it will reach those I made it for."

-Monica Peck

David Khalili talks with Sabry for American Sexuality.

Posted by dwhudson at June 24, 2008 9:01 AM