SPOILERS AHEAD: The article discusses elements from the documentary. Wherever our dreams may wander, and whatever paths they may lead us down, they ultimately guide us towards one direction — our authentic selves. Every dream reflects something deep within us, and even if we don’t fully realize them, merely touching the surface allows us to uncover parts of ourselves. This central idea underpins the Egyptian documentary, The Brink of Dreams (2024). Earlier this year, it made history as the first Egyptian film to win the prestigious Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary Film at the Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir, the documentary premiered in Egyptian cinemas on November 6th and is still showing at local venues like Zawya. The documentary focuses on a Coptic village in Minya, tracing the lives of a close-knit group of young girls—Majda Masoud, Monika Youssef, and Haidi Sameh—whose dreams were far larger than the challenging realities they faced. No matter how big their ambitions seemed, or how frequently they were ridiculed for them, these dreams breathed life into them—offering a space where they could venture into the unknown, diving…
REVIEW: The Brink of Dreams Sheds Light on Class Inequality in Egypt’s Creative Industries
November 19, 2024
