Youssef Ismail

Movies

Dunia
Antar
After studying literature at Cairo University, Dunia, 23 years old, wants to become a professional dancer. She attends audition for an oriental dance contest where she recites Arabian poetry without any body movement. She explain to the perplexed jury that a woman can't move her body or evoke act of love when society ask women to hide their femininity. She is selected and meet Beshir, an intellectual and activist who will supervise her thesis on ecstasy in Sufi love poetry. Their attraction is mutual. This could be liberation for Dunia but the constraints on women in Egyptian society goes deeper than she suspects.
Hammam Fe Amsterdam
Hammaam lives with his big family in a crowded Egyptian alley. As he is jobless, he loses his girl to a rich suitor. He then decides to leave for Amsterdam where his uncle has immigrated long ago. As soon as he arrives he loses his money and passport and gets assaulted in an inn. Adriano the young Egyptian emigrant saves his neck and helps him find his uncle who dumps him. Hence, Hammaam stays with a group of young Arabs. After his tiring journey between failure and success he falls in love with a young lady who helps him fulfill his dream of buying a certain famous restaurant. As his business flourishes, he returns home to visit his family proud of his success.
The Emigrant
The biblical tale of Joseph is told from an Egyptian perspective in this interesting character study. In this film, Joseph is called Ram. Ram, tired of his family's backward superstitious life, and tired of being picked on by his brothers, wants to go to Egypt to study agriculture. His brothers travel with him across Sinai, but then suddenly sell him to Ozir, an Egyptian who works for a Theban military leader, Amihar. Amihar is impressed by Ram's drive and personal charm and so grants Ram some desolate land outside the capital. Ram soon finds himself a pawn in the political and sexual games between Amihar and his wife Simihit, a high priestess of the Cult of Amun.