Director’s Biographies:

Bassma Farah is a multi-talented individual, having graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Helwan University with a bachelor’s degree in Art Direction for film and theater. Her diverse skill set includes freelance work as a filmmaker, video creator, photographer, storyboard artist, painter, singer, composer, and guitar player, with more talents to be explored. Alongside her practical experience, She have participated in acting workshops and performed in numerous plays at community theaters, including a musical production. Additionally, She is currently working as an acting instructor for teenagers at a music academy center, sharing her passion and knowledge with the next generation of performers. She graduated from Jesuit Cairo Film School in 2022, where she further developed her expertise in filmmaking.

Ahmed Alkayal is a filmmaker, and writer who graduated in the 12th batch of Jesuit Cairo Film School in October 2022, he was born in 1982 and graduated from the Faculty of Commerce, Mansoura University in 2003. He worked as an accountant for 12 years before leaving his field of work in search of his passion for writing and cinema.
His first documentary short film Until the End, was produced by Elnahda Jesuit Cairo Association and Jesuits Cairo Film School. It has already been selected in 11 Film festivals with
one Semi-Finalist and Honorable Mention at Student World Impact Film Festival. and his graduation project from film school is “I thought I was going to make a poetic film with
my brother” a Medium-length documentary film, and has already been selected in the 5th edition of Rough Cut Lab Africa RCLA2023. It has been awarded (Documentary Africa) DocA Mentorship and continued developing the film when it was chosen for the Full-length Creative Documentaries workshop with Blair McClendon and Marouan Omara at The Dahshur Workshops. The film premiered at the Ismailia International Film Festival in Egypt.

Directors’ Statements:

In 2021, while attending Jesuit Cairo film school in Cairo, we were assigned a project by our instructor and filmmaker, Marwan Omara, titled “Non-narrative Filmmaking.” The challenge was to create a film within a film, with specific rules and instructions. Feeling overwhelmed, I faced an additional challenge: forming my own team. My fiancé, also a student there, declined my request to team up, encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone.
I approached Kayal, a student who was my polar opposite—ten years older, talkative, a smoker, and not fond of animals. Despite our differences, he agreed to collaborate. As we discussed potential themes, we discovered a stark contrast in our perspectives: Kayal, from the countryside, viewed Cairo as a land of dreams, while I, having lived in Cairo all my life, saw it as a land of nightmares.
Intrigued by this contradiction, we decided to make it the core of our film. We then formed a team with our colleagues Salma, Omar, and Mina, and began our journey. “Land of Dreams and
Nightmares” became more than just an assignment; it was an exploration of our differing views on Cairo.
This documentary captures the essence of Cairo through our contrasting lenses, reflecting the city’s multifaceted nature. Our goal is to highlight the diverse experiences of its inhabitants, demonstrating how two vastly different perspectives can come together to create something meaningful. “Land of Dreams and Nightmares” is a testament to the power of storytelling and the beauty of embracing differences. ~ Bassma Farah ~

Since my childhood, I always dreamed of having the opportunity to live in Cairo. I believed that, despite the beauty of the rural environment I was born into, we, the people from the provinces in this centralized country, could only play the role of the receiver, the spectator, the marginalized, and the distant. We even used to call Cairo “Egypt” because, for us, it meant everything.
So I made several failed attempts to move to Cairo, and when I finally succeeded at the age of 35, I became a writer and then a filmmaker. I believe that a person needs to have a voice and witnesses to their story, and that the story of the outsider chasing their dreams in the capital is not just my story! It is the story of many who see the capital as an opportunity to break free from the marginalization in the provinces of a centralized state.
When Marwan Omara announced the conditions for the nonfiction filmmaking project, the most important of which was co-directing, and while the students were choosing their film partners, I was about to leave the room, as I didn’t have any friends in this place yet. Suddenly, Bassma Farah stopped me and asked if we could work on a film together, and I immediately agreed, surprised.
This film was an artistic, intellectual, and human journey. Bassma and I started on opposite ends of the spectrum, but we gradually grew closer on all levels. Our perspectives on the city shifted towards a more flexible zone. We became friends, and my fear of animals even diminished.
“Land of Dreams and Nightmares” is our testimony, documenting the city, our characters, and our journey during a period of major and rapid changes imposed upon us by a loud and harsh time. We wanted to slip through and leave a mark on the wall of this era. ~ Ahmed El Sayed Al Kayal ~