Egyptian director, Omar El Zohairy, has unveiled his new project, Mammals. Produced in France by Juliette Lepoutre for Still Moving, it will be shot in English with an international cast.
Co-scripted by El Zohairy with Mohamed Adeeb (author of the Egyptian series Bimbo), the film is set in Japan where a young man visits his reclusive father in one of the world’s most exclusive seaside resorts. When he arrives he is told that, without his knowledge, his father has locked him into a business deal which he cannot refuse. The young man rebels, but ends up accepting his fate and losing his mind.
The two authors explained that they were inspired by their own lives. In particular El Zohairy, whose father’s difficult life as an immigrant, dying in 2016 in the United States, inspired him to construct this narrative about Western capitalism and family.
Mammals is Omar El Zohairy’s second feature film. His first, Feathers, shown at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival during Critics’ Week, won the Grand Prix Nespresso, making him the first Egyptian film-maker to win this award.
Sources: Broadcast Pro, Variety, Still Moving
