Sidi Kaouki and Upper Egypt

#1

My intervention in Qus the city and the people movie

Qus the city and the people film is a short film and one of the documented series films named " the story’s root" The idea of the series based on the idea of re-exploring the rural areas and villages in Egypts.

through the name of the city " Qus" the filmmakers are trying to know the root of the city name and identifying it. in their trip we watch the city, its famous attractions , its treasures and we are introduced to its habitats

I do believe there are much in common between saed and upper Egypt

[text-direction=rtl]مشاركتي في فيلم قوص البلد والناس

فيلم قوص البلد والناس هو فيلم قصير من سلسلة افلام وثائقية بعنوان “اصل الحكاية”، تقوم فكرة السلسلة على إعادة اكتشاف نجوع و قرى مصر، من خلال اسم البلد “قوص” يحاول صانعي الفيلم الوصول لأصل الكلمة و تعريفها و أثناء الرحلة نرى المكان و أهم علاماته و كنوزه و نتعرف على أهله و قاطنيه.

أعتقد ان في أشياء مشتركة كثيرة بين سيدي كاووكي وصعيد مصر[/text-direction]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aPqrPVqYrM

#2

hey @amin_osama
thanks for sharing this, it gives an idea about how life is in Qus.

here in Sidi kaouki, it is less dense than Qus, with one motorized road. will be very interesting to do something like this in sidi kaouki as a step to know the local community.

People are working in herding mainly, and some small part in tourism. with one small nearby school for children. It’s a very calm place. In your opinion, how can one ( as an outsider ) approach the local community in order to produce a small video documentation on sidi kaouki.

#3

That is amazing. I live in upper Egypt (Menia-samalout). Particularly in a village called “Qulosna”. As people say here, the name of this village was thousands of years ago “Kathino-polis” (this polis is the same as in helio-polis which means city). So “Kathino polis” means the city of God kathino.

Life in upper Egypt is rich not only because of people but also the roots of this cities and villages which affected people’s lives. This appears obviously in some words in the language we speak. We have also Coptic language (the language we spoke before Arabic) which I know a village in Menia that speaks this language. We also practice this language in worship in churches. We actually are being taught this language in churches until this moment.

#4

Hi Hazem!

Thank you for replying back to me. From my perspective, we can reach out to Charities in Sidi Kaouki as we did in Qus. We can also communicate with craftsmen giving them the opportunity to talk about their life and crafts away of the touristic approach. Moreover, we can organize a movie night event there and invite those craftsmen to see such kind of movies to create new channels that will help in producing our movie. Indigenous knowledge and local initiatives are usually documented and disseminated by outsiders, who make their own interpretations in the process. These videos provide an opportunity for rural people to document their own knowledge and experiences and to express their wants and hopes from their own perspectives. All people in a community, whatever their formal level of education, can use video to communicate their perspectives.

#5

ping @owen @alex_levene @HadeerGhareeb what do you guys think about this ?

#6

very interesting, never knew about this.

here it is kinda similar. It is mainly an Amazigh area here so there is this mix of amazigh, Moroccan-Arabic, and a mix of French. I attended a prayer in smimou ( the nearby village ) where the speach was in 2 different languages ( one in Arabic and one in local language which was probably Amazigh )

but anyways just a side note @bishoyabd High arabic is used for communication, and Egyptian dialect is understood from movies :smiley: so no worries about communicating with people here.

#7

that is a good news, actually :grinning:.

#8

Hi Hazem

In order to create a documentary movie about life in Sidi Kaouki, we at least need two cameras, wired mic, and aluminum paper rolls to reflect the light, and professional montage software as adobe premiere pro

#9

this could be organized, I know already people coming with cameras. still missing the mic but it is easy to get. ( adding this to the Dynalist now )

As for the software, it would be nicer if we can stick to FLOSS ( Free libre opensource software) alternative. Kdenlive is a good candidate for this

#10

I love the alternative touches allover here :smile:

#11

I have a few rushes shot in 4k. Lots of them, shot during the last two days.
I’ll upload them as son as possible.

#12

i have 2 external, non-wired mics that i can bring with me. I’ve used them for video recording in the past and they allow you to film on anything (camera, smart phone, DSLR) and add the sound tracks in afterwards.

#13

I like the idea of helping make something about the local community while i’m there. I’d also really like to look at running some film screenings whilst i’m out there. I’m looking to bring a micro projector with me (will i find any problems with importing something like this? - i know Ethiopia put huge import taxes on electronics)

I’ve been thinking about collating a load of surf documentaries from around the world that we could screen either at the house or in the town. I know more about film distribution and screening than i do about film making. But i’m always a willing participant.

#14

Very good @alex_levene
I have an old wired mic and I can also bring a new one with me

#15

Agree with Hazem about the Egyptian Arabic, Its all those comedies :))