CAIRO: Eid celebrations during Al-Adha, like those of Eid Al-Fitr two months ago, were marked by big crowds blocking Talat Harb Street, in anticipation of new film releases at Metro and Miami cinemas.
The cinemas face off on opposite sides of the main artery of the street
A heavy police presence was clearly visible around the cinemas, perhaps in fears of a repeat of reported sexual molestation incidents which plagued the same area during Eid Al-Fitr in late October.
The sidewalks adjacent to both cinemas were cordoned off with metal bars so that the throngs would not spill out to the main street. Notably there were fewer females present.
The big hits this season were Ahmed Ezz’s “Al Rahina (Hostage) screened exclusively at Miami, and May Ezzedin and Emad Barur s “Ayazon? (Do You Think So?) .
At Miami, the hustle and bustle did not abate until a late hour, for Ahmed Ezz was present at the 12:30 am screening. The large gatherings kept pushing or elbowing their way to the ticket box in an attempt to get a glimpse of Ezz as he walked out by 2 am. But finally quiet returned as he walked away and the majority entered the 2:30 am screening of Al Rahina.
The major crowd-puller at Metro was “Ayazon , beating out Karim Abdel Aziz’s “Mahtit Masr (Cairo Railway Station) and Saad Al Saghir’s “Kasat Al Hay Al Shabi ( The Story of the Popular District) , both of which are showing in the same cinema.
“We have all come to see “Ayazon , said one young chap from Shubra. “Emad [Barur] is a new pop star from our district and all these young men are here to see his film. His song, also carrying the film’s name, is used as a trailer that is currently being beamed on satellite channels, he added.
“But Karim Abdel Aziz’s is another hit, I can assure you, said Abdel Galil Hassan, of Al Arabia for production and distribution, who came out to inquire why shots were being taken.
“We’re distributing both movies and it isn’t in the best of our interest to promote one against the other. Both are successes.
With a high turnout for the film premieres, cinema officials feared they would run out of tickets. “When they told us tickets for the “Ayazon were sold out and only some were available for the other two movies, we kept shouting Ayazon several times.
An extra show was added for nocturnal film fans at 4 am.
