Written & Directed By

fady farid shawky

Director’s Biography:

Fady graduated from the Academy of Art and Design in 2009.
Beginning in 2020, Fady pursued studies in cinema, attending writing and directing workshops with Hala Jalal at Impact Media, Fadi Haroun, Antonios Bassili, Bassma Farah, Amir Fahim, Michael Tadros, Sufyan, Khaled Al Saghir, Tony Nabih, and Michael Bayoh. He has extensively studied numerous books on writing and directing to deepen his knowledge.
Fady has written approximately 13 short films. His directorial work includes the production of three experimental films, nine training short films, and the festival short film “Raneem.”
Fady has also worked as a drama teacher and has significant experience in theater, having served as both a director’s
assistant and a director.

Director’s Statement:

At the beginning of writing my film Expatriates, there was a cry from the depths of my soul for the others to accept my differences, my condition, and who I am, without judgment or trying to fit me into a mold of norms and traditions. I didn’t want to wear masks to gain their approval, which was tearing apart my identity.

I kept wondering: Who am I really? Am I what they want me to be? Are my actions truly what I think and feel, or have I become a faceless, identity-less version of others, under their direct or even subtle control?

I had to rebel against this situation, even if my rebellion caused shock or pain to some. Despite the guilt that accompanied my rebellion and the pain it caused to others, it was easier for me than continuing to please everyone just to gain their approval, which would erase my truth and leave me living a life torn between appearance and reality—between what is seen of me and what lies deep within my being.

Yet, while creating the characters in the film, I discovered that I, like others, judge more than I understand or empathize with the nature of humanity and its struggles. I judged someone for being controlling and subtly manipulative without recognizing their true fears and feelings of abandonment and loneliness. I judged another as lacking emotional stability, without realizing that her heart had never touched love and acceptance throughout her life to embrace her crying heart.

So I wondered: Is it human nature to judge others, and if they don’t fit into one’s personal mold of beliefs and emotions, they are undeserving of acceptance? Or is there hope that we can accept each other without trying to change or control one another in any way?