Egyptian film 'Crop' at Human Rights Festival, France

Directed by Marouan Omara and German video artist Johanna Domke, the documentary 'Crop', which tackles censorship in journalism throughout different eras of Egyptian history, will be screened within the official selection of the International Human Rights Film Festival in Paris. 'Crop' is the only official entry from Egypt. 'Crop' follows an Al-Ahram photojournalist in the days after the January 2011 revolution. Filmed entirely within Al-Ahram's offices, 'Crop', as the name suggests, is about images, both the ones we see and don't see in the newspaper. Those that we do see are gateways to a discussion about censorship, as Al-Ahram's editors and photojournalists substitute one photo or another. Those we don't see, at least not in traditional media, come from citizen journalists, whose on the ground reporting, especially during the 2011 uprising, also played a part in the formulation of public opinion. Along the way the film shows how all Egyptian presidents from the time of Gamal Abdel-Nasser have used the media to shape public perception of them. Since its inception in 2003, France's annual International Human Rights Film Festival (Festival International du Film des Droits de l’Homme de Paris) has become the largest cultural event tackling human rights issues in France. During the festival's week, the viewers are presented with a panorama of the documentary film on the theme of human rights. Each screening is followed by a meeting with the director and a discussion with the audience, in the presence of actors, NGO leaders, journalists, academics, etc. Source: Ahram Online