A police officer tortures one last suspect in the most important
assignment of his career: to find the ultimate Truth...
A woman confesses her love to a reclusive, masked man in a video rental
shop...
A disgraced doctor confronts a man whose job it is to create rumours
that spread across Cairo...
Founded over a thousand years ago under the sign of Mars "the
victorious," Cairo has long been a welcoming destination for explorers
and tourists, drawn by traces of the ancient cities of Memphis and
Heliopolis. More recently, the Egyptian capital has become a city
determined to forget. Since 2013, the events of the "Arab Spring" have
been gradually erased from its official history.
The present is now contested as writers are imprisoned, publishing
houses raided, and independent news sites shut down. With a new
Administrative Capital being built in the desert east of Cairo, the
city's future is also unclear.
Here ten new voices offer tentative glimpses into Cairene life, at a
time when writing directly about Egypt's greatest challenges is often
too dangerous. With intimate views of life, tinged with satire,
surrealism, and humour, these stories guide us through the slums and
suburbs, bars and backstreets of a city haunted by an unspoken past.
