It is 2013. You have been over-saturated with the “Arab Spring”.
You saw the Egyptian Revolution on the news two years ago and experienced coverage 24 hours a day. Do you really want to see a film that takes you back there… again?
Enough of the flag waving, the chanting, the crowds of people. Where did that get anyone?
Let me tell you why I think you should give The Square a chance.
When I arrived in Cairo, I was cynical. I had marched against the Iraq war in 2003, joined hundreds of thousands of people in the street and—nothing happened. I didn’t think a sit-in could change anything because in Cairo, anyone could be picked up and arrested or killed for protesting. I was proven wrong then, and that challenge to my belief has kept me in the square for the last two years filming with an incredible team of collaborators.
I make films because I see something that I believe must be shared with the world—even if it is just a glimpse, or a taste of it. The dedicated revolutionaries still fighting in the square and the cities around Cairo may seem like they are a world away, but when you hear them and see them, you see that they are closer to progress than you ever imagined.
Khalid Abdallah is the main person we follow throughout the The Square. As the founder of Mosireen, a Cairo media collective with the most highly watched non-profit Youtube channel in the world during the clashes in Egypt in November, he says the revolution is “An act of sight. Like a miracle, it makes visible what seemed beyond the horizon, bringing power structures into focus, reshaping what once appeared indestructible.”
Sanaa Seif, a young but wise revolutionary and filmmaker in our film said: “There is no way to overthrow all of these regimes unless everyone is revolting. Our revolution will never be achieved, in its true goals, unless there is a strong movement in America, because our politics are so related. You relate to the people’s struggle all over, you relate to the people facing brutality anywhere, because they’re going through the same thing.”
So by making this film we are inviting you to take a look from the inside out—rather than look from the outside in, through your American news sources. By supporting this story and helping us get it out there, you are helping courageous people fight the fight. Ahmed Hassan, another revolutionary who we follow in the film, told us what we were doing was important because we have grown up being lied to. “My hope is that if this film is able to reach people widely, we can give people—give our children—the truth. And if they are able to see the truth, they will be able to create a better world.”
We hope you’ll join us in this story, working towards that better world.
There is less than one day left on our Kickstarter. Every dollar you give will be matched by a donor, so your pledge will be doubled. When we release the film, you will be a part of a global celebration and the Egyptian revolution.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwBAmCbCAxw
This project was featured in GOOD’s Saturday series Push for Good— our guide for crowdfunding creative progress.
