Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema for a one-week run beginning next Monday, June 11: TAHRIR: LIBERATION SQUARE
Stefano Savona’s immersive verité of the Egyptian uprising made its world premiere last year at Locarno. Additional circuit stops have included the New York Film Festival, Santa Barbara, Docpoint, Dubai, DocLisboa, and DOXA.
Premiering just six months after the massive protests in the now famous public square forced Egypt’s Mubarak out of power, Savona’s film reflects a guerrilla-style, on-the-ground perspective of a revolution in progress, with all the chaos and intensity that accompanies a world-changing event. Although some characters are loosely followed, the true power of the film comes from its ability to capture the masses and their collective action. Savona’s camera documents not only citizens gathered on the precipice of change, but also a complex swirl of emotions from a people finally able to speak out publicly and communally against a thirty-year-long regime – their fear, anticipation, confusion, anger, and, most importantly, hope, determination, and joy shine through.
what (not) to doc 