A Cairo arthouse cinema has agreed to screen an independent film after its director launched a hunger strike to protest the venue’s rejection.
Zawya Cinema announced Wednesday it would show Maryam's Choice, a dark comedy by first-time director Mahmoud Yehia, who went on hunger strike in protest for more than a week to force them to screen his film. “Our decision stems solely from concern for the director’s health and life,” Zawya said in a statement. “It is not based on any other consideration.”
Yehia had accused the cinema of bias, saying it had rejected his feature despite its inclusion in several major festivals. “Zawya is the only place in Egypt that screens independent films, and they have already screened all the films mine competed with in festivals over the past two years,” he wrote on Facebook on the seventh day of his strike. “They refuse to screen my film without giving any reason.”
Zawya previously apologized after staff members assaulted Yehia outside its downtown Cairo location, where he had attempted a sit-in. Yehia accepted the apology, insisting his only demand was for the film to be screened.
Distribution dispute
In its latest statement, Zawya explained that it had communicated with the film’s distributor and had offered to host a screening organized by the distributor, which Yehia refused. The company told Zawya that other cinemas had turned down the film.
“As a result, we decided to screen Maryam's Choice at Zawya out of concern for the director's wellbeing,” the statement read. “We emphasize that securing a commercial screening is the responsibility of the distributor, not the cinema.”
While acknowledging its role as one of the few platforms open to independent filmmakers, Zawya said it must balance audience demand with its programming vision. “This does not mean we are obliged to accept every film offered by distributors,” it said. “This is not a negative judgment on the film itself.”
“We never imagined we would be forced to include a film in our program out of fear for its maker's life,” Zawya added.
Family dilemma, moral choice
Maryam's Choice follows a day in the life of an Egyptian family facing a moral crisis. Told through dark humor, the story begins when Maryam, the matriarch, is offered a sum of money that could solve the family’s financial problems, but only if she agrees to help a terminally ill man die by euthanasia. As events spiral, deeper familial conflicts are revealed, exposing fractures that go far beyond money.
The film was written, directed, and produced by Yehia, and stars Mohamed Radwan, Ahmed Abou Zeid, and Rasha Sami. It has screened at the Oran Arab Film Festival in Algeria, and the 2024 Cinemana Festival in Oman, where Rasha Sami won Best Actress.
It also received three awards at the 2023 Alexandria Mediterranean Film Festival, including Best Director (Yehia), Best Actor (Radwan), and Best Actress (Sami).
