Co-presented by the Arab American National Museum
After twenty years of absence, Sue returns to Egypt, her native country, to see her mother, Fairouz, an eccentric aristocrat with whom she has severed all ties. This surprising journey, taking her from Cairo to Alexandria, tinted with distant memories, nostalgia, and mixed feelings towards her past, will enable her to become free and emancipated. - Based on his childhood memories, the director tells us about the relationships filled with tough love between his mother and his grandmother.
Festivals & Awards: Locarno Film Festival 2024, Red Sea Film Festival 2023, Zurich Film Festival 2023
About the Filmmaker:
Born in 1986, Tamer Ruggli is a Swiss-Egyptian director and screenwriter. He grew up in Kinshasa, Riyadh, Vienna and Zurich, then joined the department Cinema of the Cantonal School of Art of Lausanne (ECAL). After a screenwriting workshop at the New York Film Academy, he is a laureate of the SSA scholarship (Swiss Society of Authors) and the CÉCI Le Moulin d’Andé Prize for the writing of BACK TO ALEXANDRIA, his first feature film of fiction. His short films have been selected and rewarded in several international festivals.
- Year2024
- Runtime95 minutes
- LanguageArabic, French
- CountrySwitzerland, France, Egypt
- GenreDrama, Comedy
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- DirectorTamer Ruggli
- ScreenwriterTamer Ruggli, Marianne Brun
- ProducerGerard Monier, Francine Lusser
- Co-ProducerLaurine Pelassy
- CastNadine Labaki, Fanny Ardant, Laila Ezz El Arab
- CinematographerThomas Hardmeier
- EditorThomas Bachmann
- Production DesignSébastien Birchler
Co-presented by the Arab American National Museum
After twenty years of absence, Sue returns to Egypt, her native country, to see her mother, Fairouz, an eccentric aristocrat with whom she has severed all ties. This surprising journey, taking her from Cairo to Alexandria, tinted with distant memories, nostalgia, and mixed feelings towards her past, will enable her to become free and emancipated. - Based on his childhood memories, the director tells us about the relationships filled with tough love between his mother and his grandmother.
Festivals & Awards: Locarno Film Festival 2024, Red Sea Film Festival 2023, Zurich Film Festival 2023
About the Filmmaker:
Born in 1986, Tamer Ruggli is a Swiss-Egyptian director and screenwriter. He grew up in Kinshasa, Riyadh, Vienna and Zurich, then joined the department Cinema of the Cantonal School of Art of Lausanne (ECAL). After a screenwriting workshop at the New York Film Academy, he is a laureate of the SSA scholarship (Swiss Society of Authors) and the CÉCI Le Moulin d’Andé Prize for the writing of BACK TO ALEXANDRIA, his first feature film of fiction. His short films have been selected and rewarded in several international festivals.
- Year2024
- Runtime95 minutes
- LanguageArabic, French
- CountrySwitzerland, France, Egypt
- GenreDrama, Comedy
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- DirectorTamer Ruggli
- ScreenwriterTamer Ruggli, Marianne Brun
- ProducerGerard Monier, Francine Lusser
- Co-ProducerLaurine Pelassy
- CastNadine Labaki, Fanny Ardant, Laila Ezz El Arab
- CinematographerThomas Hardmeier
- EditorThomas Bachmann
- Production DesignSébastien Birchler