Centerpiece Presentation - Nawara

Egypt / 122 minutes

Set against the backdrop of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, Nawara lives in poverty with her grandmother because she and her husband of five years cannot afford to move in together. Despite her misfortune, Nawara remains sweet and optimistic. She works as a maid for Usama and Shahina, a couple so impressively wealthy and connected to Hosni Mubarak they take their privileged existence inside a posh gated community for granted. They understand nothing of Nawara’s world and she can only observe theirs. When political unrest in Egypt causes most of Mubarak’s associates to flee Cairo, Usama refuses to leave, believing the conflict will prove to be transient. Eventually, when Shahinda convinces Usama that the family must escape, she implores Nawara to stay in their home so as to give the impression that they are only gone for a short time.  Ever the people pleaser, and over her husbands loud objections, Nawara agrees to stay. 

Nawara is a biting critique of the social injustices in Egypt through the eyes of an unpredictably cheerful and strong-willed heroine.