Cannes Director Spotlight: Yousry Nasrallah

Yousry Nasrallah
New Film: After the Battle
Country: Egypt
Age: 60
Best Known for: A 25-plus year career making films that tackle issues relevant to his native Egypt

Cannes History
This is Nasrallah's first time in Competition. His 2004 film, The Gate of Sun, played out of Competition at Cannes.

His Resume
Peasant life, land reform, patriarchy, Westernization, women's issues: These are just some of the topics Nasrallah investigates with his films. Not one of them, however, has really crossed over into the American art-house stream of consciousness. But Nasrallah has worked with a number of recognized international talents, including Hiam Abbass (so good in Tom McCarthy's The Visitor), who happens to be one of this year's jurors, and acclaimed French writer/director Claire Denis (who penned the screenplay for Nasrallah's 1999 film, El Medina.

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After the Battle
"Topically set in Cairo against the backdrop of the recent Arab Spring protests, 'After the Battle' charts the burgeoning romance between Mahmoud—a camel herder recruited by the Egyptian government to carry out armed attacks on Tahrir Square protestors, and since ostracized by his community—and Reem, an educated, liberal-minded divorcee working in advertising" —In Contention

Though he has a significantly lower profile than most of his competitors, Nasrallah has two things working for him. One is the absence of another North African/Middle Eastern filmmaker in the Competition. After the Battle is already guaranteed to stand out compared to the festival's major bend toward European/American films.

Second is the film's relevance. Only a year and a half ago, the Tahrir protests began, and they remain a defining moment in 21st century geopolitics (that they're already getting a movie treatment should speak volumes). If it was Hollywood doing this, I'd be concerned, but Nasrallah is a serious filmmaker with clear reverence for his country and thoughtful stances on the issues it faces. I'm not sure he's winning the Palme with this one, but if it lives up to the promise of its premise, a Special Jury Prize, or something similar, isn't at all out of the question.