Egyptian building block

ICA Films presents THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING Opens Friday 14 September, 2007 A film by Marwan Hamed Based on the best selling novel by Dr. Alaa Al Aswany Dur: 172mins ‘timely, thought provoking and entertaining simply unmissable’ London Film Festival ‘a sprawling, boisterous, at times unruly movie that tracks the up- and downturns of Egyptian society over the years through the tenants of a decaying downtown Cairo residence a revealing window into the secular world of a modern Islamic country’ Hollywood Reporter Many lives different stories one city one building The Yacoubian Building Adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name, The Yacoubian Building in the city of Cairo embodies every aspect of Egypt’s capital, from its architecture and history, to its complex labyrinth of stories exploring love and power, sex and politics. Crossing a spectrum of classes, characters, families and narratives, debut director Marwan Hamed’s beautiful adaptation of Dr Alaa Al Aswany’s novel turns one of Cairo’s oldest buildings into an intricate depiction of the city at broad-reaching levels of the social and emotional scale. Tackling everything from Islamic fundamentalism to homosexuality and corruption, the film was a cause célèbre on its release in Egypt where it proceeded to smash box office records and spark unprecedented debate. The Yacoubian Building is Hamed’s second feature. His debut was a short movie based on the novel Lily, which was released to much acclaim and received several awards. The Yacoubian Building is out in paperback in all good bookshops this September from HarperPerennial (£7.99)

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