Electro Chaabi: Screening + Q&A

Event information

Much more than a simple musical phenomenon, electro chaabi is a salutary discharge for a youth haunted by the shackles that the Egyptian society imposes. The genre is a new kind of music born under the cultural revolution that swept over Egypt, it combines pop, electronic music and freestyles chanted in a quasi-rap style to create a unique version of Arab hop-hop.

Electro Chaabi is a feature documentary directed by Hind Meddeb about the musical phenomenon of Mahragans in Egypt. Mahragans is a style of electro developed in El Salam City, a poor neighbourhood in Cairo. Victims of corruption and social segregation, the youth of the poorer neighbourhoods exorcize their strife by partying. Under tents, lit up multi-coloured balls hang as decoration, dozens of dancers carry out spectacular performances in a setting worthy of a Bollywood film. From the district of Imbaba to the district of Matariya, each area has its star. Through the life of these musicians, one discovers an Egyptian youth who, in spite of its extreme poverty is open to the world. The documentary follows these musicians on their path to recognition, which begins to go beyond the walls of their respective neighbourhoods. While sharing the life of these rising stars, the film enters into the intimacy of three unofficial neighbourhoods: Matariya, Imbaba and Madinat el Salam.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s director Hind Meddeb.

Electro Chaabi screening and Hind Meddeb Q&A is being supported by Film Hub London, managed by Film London and a proud partner of the BFI Film Audience Network, funded by the National Lottery.

Arabic & English | 2014 | 77 min