CAIRO CHRONICLES
2004
28 minutes
Color, Film and Video
Egypt


Cairo Chronicles is a personal documentary that takes places in Cairo, Egypt. The death of the filmmaker's father compels her to return to his native Egypt. Kamal-Eldin documents the past - her father's generation and her own childhood.

Cairo Chronicles is a nostalgic tribute that casts a critical look at modern Cairo. Kamal-Eldin's first-person narration is the core of the narrative structure. The piece is shot on 16mm-color film and DV. Rich images are juxtaposed contrasting old and new, rural and urban and rich and poor.

The Middle East is a part of the world that is rarely covered positively by Western media. In Cairo Chronicles, Kamal-Eldin imparts a deeper understanding and a more compassionate view of that part of the world.
Cairo Chronicles Trailer low bandwidth
Cairo Chronicles Trailer high bandwidth
"Cairo Chronicles  is terrific.  So evocative.  Nostalgia without sentimentality.  It is beautifully edited.  And bears the Kamal-Eldin stamp."
Dr. Margot Badran
Middle East Historian and Author


"In Cairo Chronicles, Kamal-Eldin's visual depiction of Cairo powerfully articulates change, decay and loss."
Fatma  Mindikoglu
Communications Department, UCSD


"Cairo Chronicles was beautiful. A lyrical poem, soft, romantic, sultry, yet also stark and honest. I was very much impressed by the sensual and nostalgic quality of it."
Dr. Olga Rojer, Department Chair, Language & Foreign Studies
American University, Washington DC

SCREENINGS:
- Tiburon International Film Festival
- Women of Color Film Festival
- The Middle East Studies Association Conference (MESA)
- Semifinalist at Boston Motion Picture Awards International Short Film Festival Competition
- Hosni Haddad Memorial Lectures and Presentation, University of Chicago
- Vocation Visitor at Luther College, Iowa