“El Cafeteria is a forgotten amateur film with a lost sound track that I shot back in 1975 as part of a workshop. The documentary depicts university life in Cairo in the ’70s. The real value of the film is not artistic or historical but rather its reactivating potential. In these delicate times of Egypt‘s history, one feels compelled to find the students that appear in the films, arrange a screening, and find out what has happened to their lives since then. The questions and the debate that arise may lead us to a new reading of our difficult and turbulent present.” – Paul Geday
Paul Geday is a visual artist, filmmaker, and curator. His last exhibition, On photography... At Studio Viennoise, (2012) was conceived around a fully functioning belle epoque photographic studio. In the second phase, the concept will be expanded into a one year “living exhibition” and will incorporate amateur and experimental films and photographs. His short film Bye Bye (2011) was presented at Forum Expanded 2012.
Director, camera and editor: Paul Geday
Format: 16mm
Running time: 11 min
