Egyptian film “Bab El-Wadaa’” (Gate of Departure) has continued to win many awards at each film festival it participates in. The film won four awards, along with a Certificate of Appreciation at the 64th Egyptian Catholic Centre Cinema Festival.
The cast and crew won Best Cinematography (Zaki Aref), Best Music (Rageh Daoud), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Salwa Khattab), and the Special Jury Award. It also received a Certificate of Appreciation for being one of the best five Egyptian films of 2015, and for complying with the ethical and humanitarian criteria outlined by the Egyptian Catholic Centre Cinema Festival.
This comes less than a month after the film won six awards at the 42nd Egyptian Cinema Film Association Festival. The film also won the Silver Pyramid Award for Best Artistic Contribution at Cairo International Film Festival.
Bab El-Wadaa’ tells the story of a boy raised by an overprotective mother; she fears her son has started to engage with the outside world after the death of his father. As the boy grows up, he discovers how attached his grandmother is to the memory of her son, his father, constantly reminding herself of his death so as not to have any happy moments.
The child is caught between wanting to have a normal life away from the dark, sad, and depressing atmosphere of his home and feeling wracked with guilt for leaving his mother alone after she spent her life raising him.
