Zawya Cinema in downtown witnessed, at midnight today, the special screening of the movie “Tomorrow”, in the presence of the head of the Syndicate of Acting Professions, the artist Dr. Ashraf Zaki, and a group of artists, including Mohamed Riad, Ahmed Salama, Samir Omar, Mido Adel, Aliaa Al-Husseini, Wael Abdullah, Mustafa Mahmoud, Hamada Barakat, Sherif Helmy, Mohamed Salah, Ayman Al-Muniri, Soha Youssef, Ahmed Tawfiq, Mohamed Helmy, Ahmed El-Sisi, the young director Mohamed Zaki, the journalist Mohamed Badrawi, the journalist Hussein El-Gendy, and the journalist Bassem Diab.
The film was shown as part of the independent cinema screenings, as part of the film’s continuation of its journey with the audience, after its previous showing at the Hanager Cinema.
Dr. Ashraf Zaki, head of the Acting Professions Syndicate, explained in press statements that his participation in the film “Tomorrow” came as a guest of honor, due to his presence outside Egypt at the time in the UAE, where he was invited to participate in a number of simple scenes, confirming his agreement to appear in support of the film makers and believing in their experience, stressing the importance of encouraging young students and specialists in the artistic field.
Screenwriter and actor Mohamed Magdy Barakat stated that the film presents a human cinematic experience that contemplates the human relationship with time, the impact of choices on destiny, and the moments in which a person wishes he had another chance to understand or change, which places the work among the experiences that rely on feeling and contemplation more than on direct action.
Tomorrow movie
Regarding the film, Barakat says: “The events of the film revolve around a simple but painful question (Are we living in the moment or are we always thinking about the past?)… Bokra’s film opens up an opportunity to reflect on our relationship with time, our choices, and the limits of our ability to change our destinies, even when we try to return to the past to reformulate it.”
Barakat added that the film required great effort at the level of writing the script and dialogue, due to the intertwining of events and the abundance of details and ambiguity, stressing that the work belongs to the type of films that reveal their secrets with every new viewing, which represented a real challenge in writing.
Regarding acting, Mohamed Magdy Barakat explained that he plays in the film the character “Ahmed,” which represents logic and awareness within the events, and leads the viewer to discover many facts. He pointed out that he initially wrote the film without any intention of acting, before he agreed to the director’s proposal to embody the character, and he made sure to study it well.
For his part, the film’s director, Mohamed Samir, said that “Bokra” belongs to the genre of thriller films with a new idea, and includes a group of young people from various Arab countries, and was filmed entirely in the Emirates, noting that the choice of the film’s name came from a permanent human question: (What will happen tomorrow? And if we return to the past will we be able to change the future?), which is the fundamental question that the work discusses.
Samir continued about the challenges facing the work team, explaining that filming outside Egypt for the first time was a major challenge, but he praised the UAE’s cooperation with the film team, stressing the difficulty of presenting a youth film without relying on front-line stars, and that the goal was to provide a different experience with high artistic quality capable of reaching the audience.
Tunisian director of photography, Mehdi Aoun, said that he is having his first experience in Egyptian cinema through the film “Bakra,” filmed in the Emirates.
Mehdi Aoun said: Today I am going through a pivotal experience in my career as a Tunisian director of photography, through my participation in the film “Tomorra”, which was filmed in the United Arab Emirates, and is my first work within the framework of Egyptian cinema.
The film is story and directed by Mohamed Samir, screenplay and dialogue by Mohamed Magdy Barakat and Mohamed Samir, who at the same time assumes the main role in the work, in a special artistic experience that requires a precise balance between directorial vision and acting performance.
The film includes a diverse team of nationalities, from Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, and Syria, which made the filming location a real space for Arab artistic and cultural convergence, and was directly reflected in the richness of the image and the multiplicity of its visual and human layers.
Regarding the technical challenge in this work, Mahdi Aoun said: “When Mohamed Samir, the director, steps in front of the camera as an actor, the responsibility for the image completely shifts to the director of photography. At that moment, the task is not limited to the technical aspect only, but rather includes preserving the spirit of the scene, continuity of the directorial vision, and managing the visual rhythm with high precision, because the camera becomes the director’s voice while he is inside the frame.”
Mahdi Aoun adds: “The biggest challenge was ensuring that the visual language remained coherent and served the performance of the director-actor without losing its cinematic sense, especially in scenes that require high sensitivity in lighting and movement.”
I have previously participated in several cinematic and visual works in Tunisia, Morocco, and the Emirates. These experiences contributed to refining my vision as a director of photography, which is based on combining realism and the aesthetic dimension of the image, while respecting the privacy of each production environment.
The experience of the film “Tomorrow” represents an important step in my professional career, whether at the level of openness to Egyptian cinema or in the context of strengthening the Tunisian presence within joint Arab cinematic projects, which I believe will shape the future of the industry in the region.
For her part, artist Aya Helmy said that she embodies the character “Asia,” stressing that the story carries poignant human dimensions and relies on suspense.
“Tomorrow” movie: Story and direction by Mohamed Samir, Director of Photography: Mahdi Aoun
Screenplay and dialogue: Mohamed Magdy Barakat and Mohamed Samir, and a group of young stars participate in the film’s starring role, namely: “Mohamed Samir, Sherif Al-Ajmi, Aya Helmy, Mohamed Magdy Barakat, Mehdi Boukhris, Hisham Adel, Ashraf Al-Sharqawi, Asaad Abu Talib, Mohamed Nihad, Salem Al-Amiri, Salal bin Fadl, Wissam Zein Al-Din, Mohamed Kamal, Rima, and Aisha Zaki, with appearances.” Special for Dr. Ashraf Zaki as guest of honour.”
