By: debbie lynn elias
A hot button documentary at 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival is WORDS OF WITNESS. More timely a film could not be given that it covers the ouster of former Egyptian President Mubarak who was convicted on June 2 of this year for failing to stop the killing of protesters during the uprising that overthrew him in 2011. As of this writing, Mubarak slips in and out of consciousness in a Cairo prison.
Heba Afify is an engaging, confident and defiant young Egyptian woman. Aspiring to be a journalist (which she has proven to be), in 2011 at the height of the protests and civilian revolution in Egypt, she took to the streets, reporting her observations through her blog, Facebook, Twitter and an English edition of the Arabic newspaper, Alyoum Almasy, for which she writes. Trying to find a balance between covering history and honoring her motherfs old school thinking (and worrying) that “youfre still a girl”, the camera follows Afify through the streets as she talks to protestors, goes to rallies and herself takes part in a raid on the headquarters of the Mubarakfs Secret Police State Security Center.
Trying herself to understand what democracy is and what it means, Afify reasons that it has to be better than Mubarakfs rule, opining, “[T]the lack of democracy caused pain can be felt even if you do not know what it means.” With director Mai Iskander by her side capturing every tweet, every phone call, every posting with hand held lensing that intensifies the intimacy and personalization of this film, Afifyfs conviction only grows stronger as the situation intensifies, Mubarak steps down, the military takes control, but thousands remain missing from the arrests and beatings that occurred during the height of the protests. With the camera up close and personal, the Western World is given a fly-on-the-wall perspective that is both riveting and educational.
If Heba Afify has her way, the world will not turn a blind eye to any injustice which makes WORDS OF WITNESS an LAFF Must See Festival Film.
Directed by Mai Iskander.
