Virgin, The Copts And Me (The)

  • Vierge, les Coptes et moi (La)
© Sophie Dulac Distribution
Genre : Comedy
Type : Documentary
Original title :
Principal country concerned : Column : Cinema/tv
Year of production : 2012
Format : Feature
Running time : 85 (in minutes)
http://www.sddistribution.fr/fiche.php?id=69

Namir is a French filmmaker of Egyptian origin. One day he watches a videotape of the Virgin Mary's apparition in Egypt with his mother who, like millions of other Copts, (Egypt's Christians) sees the Virgin on the screen while he sees nothing. Skeptical about the videotape, Namir travels back to Egypt, to make a film about the bizarre occurrence of these apparitions.



Namir's mother is a Coptic Christian. She is convinced that she can see an apparition of the Virgin Mary on a video tape originating from her home in Egypt. Her son, who has been raised in a secular environment in France, decides to make a film about the phenomenon and travels to Egypt to visit his relatives. Hoping to understand the connection between appearances of the Virgin to the Copt minority and recent events in Egyptian history he soon discovers plenty of obstacles. Firstly there are his parents who interfere in the film and criticise his ideas; then there's his French producer who wants to change the film every few weeks and finally, the inhabitants of his family's Coptic village. Desperate, Namir decides to create his own version of the Virgin Mary's appearance. To realise his plan he will need to enlist the aid of the villagers and his mother; the latter soon joins him in Egypt and proves to be remarkably capable.
A humorous fictional documentary and family-drama-cum-culture-clash about religion in the diaspora, the art of cinema and the boundless creativity of the filmmakers. Making good use of his mother as the film's wonderful main protagonist, this directorial debut charmingly and wittily exposes the manipulative aspects of documentary filmmaking.

France / Qatar / Egypt 2012

by Namir Abdel Messeeh / Feature Documentary / France / 2011 / 85 min / Color / HDCAM
In Arabic, French / English, Arabic subtitles


DIRECTOR
Namir Abdel Messeeh

Interests: Religion, Family, Identity

Director
Namir Abdel Messeeh

Screenwriter
Namir Abdel Messeeh, Nathalie Najem, Anne Paschetta

Producer
Namir Abdel Messeeh

Editor
Isabelle Manquillet

Cinematographer
Nicolas Duchene

Cast
Namir Abdel Messeeh, Siham Abdel Messeeh


DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

Born in France of Egyptian parents, I've always kept close ties with
my family in Egypt, ties that are all the stronger because we belong
to the Christian minority, the Copts, who are being persecuted more
and more each day.
I don't share the religious beliefs of my community, and this has been
a source of conflict between my family and me for a long time. In
Egypt, as is often the case in Arabic countries where religion is part
of one's identity, it's impossible to argue about religious beliefs. But
it is precisely because this question of believing is at the very core of
my relationship with my family and appears to be indissociable from
what we are, how we define ourselves, I wanted to make a film about
religious beliefs and more specifically about that of the Copts in the
apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
I wanted to investigate what still ties me to this community where I
no longer live and with which I no longer share the religious beliefs.
But a film can sometimes take one where you least expect it to. The
relationship with my producer, my mother's opposition, the Egyptian
revolution have made me discover what I really wanted to recount:
the path I've followed as a filmmaker, my relationship with my
mother and the inhabitants of my village, my ties to Egypt.
The goal was not to make a film about myself, but rather to use my
persona as a filmmaker as a vector, as a means for those around me
to reveal who they are.


OWEDA FILMS - DOHA FILM INSTITUTE present
a film by Namir Abdel Messeeh La Vierge, les Coptes et Moi

I wanted to show the poor country folk of Said where my family is
from. People who never draw the attention of the media, and for
whom the revolution doesn't mean much - their conditions for just
staying alive being extremely precarious. But these people are rich
with humor, with a joy of life and a generosity that irremediably ties
me to them.
I also and above all wanted to recount something profound about
Egypt: the relations between Christians and Muslims, the role of
women in society, the manner in which political powers use religion
to maintain their positions, all while keeping it light, amusing.
This is my first feature-length film. I've tried a lot of things, some
with success, others with failure. With this film I've sought to walk
the line between fiction and documentary, mixing scenes captured
live with scenes tightly written, sometimes reshooting scenes that
had already taken place with some of the characters and sometimes
filming other scenes without their knowing it.
The production of this film was very complicated, most likely due
to a lack of resources, but also because of my determination to find
a way to write the script progressively, as the shooting and editing
work advanced.
But I have had incredible luck because I have been surrounded by a
team of extraordinary technicians who trusted me and backed me up.
Tell me they were right to do so!!!


INTERNATIONAL SALES
Doc & film international
13 rue Portefoin 75003 Paris France
Tel + 33 (0) 1 42 77 56 87
Fax + 33 (0) 1 42 77 36 56
sales@docandfilm.com
www.docandfilm.com
Daniela Elstner
+ 33 6 82 54 66 85
d.elstner@docandfilm.com
alice damiani
+ 33 6 77 91 37 97
a.damiani@docandfilm.com
Hwa-Seon Choi
+ 33 6 59 21 70 00
hs.choi@docandfilm.com

PRODUCTION
Oweda Films
Namir Abdel Messeeh
Pantin, France
+33 1 46216168
petitnamir@gmail.com

DISTRIBUTION (France)
Sophie Dulac


FESTIVALS

Doha Tribeca Filmfest
* World Premiere
www.dohafilminstitute.com/filmfestival/films/the-virgin-the-copts-and-me

Berlinale 2012
www.berlinale.de/external/de/filmarchiv/doku_pdf/20123760.pdf


_______

DE
Namirs Mutter ist eine koptische Christin. Sie ist überzeugt, dass sie
auf einem Video aus ihrer ägyptischen Heimat eine Erscheinung der
Jungfrau Maria gesehen hat. Ihr Sohn, der säkular in Frankreich aufgewachsen
ist, will über das Phänomen einen Film drehen und reist zu
seinen ägyptischen Verwandten. Er will den Zusammenhang zwischen
der ägyptischen Zeitgeschichte und den Marienerscheinungen
der koptischen Minderheit aufzeigen. Doch es gibt diverse Hin der -
nisse: seine Eltern, die sich in den Film einmischen und seine Ideen
kritisieren, sein französischer Produzent, der alle paar Wochen Änderungen vorschlägt, und nicht zuletzt das koptische Heimatdorf selbst.
In schierer Verzweiflung beschließt Namir, seine eigene Marien er -
schei nung für den Film zu inszenieren. Aber dazu braucht er die Hilfe
der Dorfbewohner und seiner Mutter, die, eigens angereist, am Set
un geahnte Fähigkeiten offenbart.
Eine dokumentarische Familien- und Culture-Clash-Kömodie über
Religion in der Diaspora, die Kunst des Filmemachens und die Kreati -
vi tät der Mitwirkenden. Mit seiner Mutter als wunderbarer Haupt dar - stel lerin entlarvt der Regisseur in seinem Langfilmdebüt die filmischen Manipulationen des Dokumentarfilms mit Humor und Charme.

Frankreich/Katar/Ägypten 2012, Länge 85 Min. · Format HDCAM · Farbe

Regie: Namir Abdel Messeeh
Buch: Namir Abdel Messeeh, Nathalie Najem, Anne Paschetta
Kamera: Nicolas Duchene
Schnitt: Sebastien De Sainte Croix
Ton: Julien Sicart, Gwennole Leborgne, Roman Dymny
Musik: Vincent Segal
Co-Produktion Doha Film Institute, Katar

DARSTELLER
mit Siham Abdel Messeeh, Namir Abdel Messeeh

PRODUKTION
Oweda Films
Pantin, Frankreich
+33 1 46216168
petitnamir@gmail.com

WELTVERTRIEB
Doc & Film International
Paris, Frankreich
+33 1 42775687
sales@docandfilm.com

Summary for official catalogues

Namir is a French filmmaker of Egyptian origin. One day he watches a videotape of the Virgin Mary's apparition in Egypt with his mother who, like millions of other Copts, (Egypt's Christians) sees the Virgin on the screen while he sees nothing. Skeptical about the videotape, Namir travels back to Egypt, to make a film about the bizarre occurrence of these apparitions.

by Namir Abdel Messeeh / Feature Documentary / France / 2011 / 85 min / Color / HDCAM - In Arabic, French / English, Arabic subtitles

Articles

6 files

Events

28 files

Files

1 files

Watch video

LA VIERGE, LES COPTES ET MOI - Bande-annonce VF (Officiel)

(Video)

Partners

  • Arterial network
  • Media, Sports and Entertainment Group (MSE)
  • Gens de la Caraïbe
  • Groupe 30 Afrique
  • Alliance Française VANUATU
  • PACIFIC ARTS ALLIANCE
  • FURTHER ARTS
  • Zimbabwe : Culture Fund Of Zimbabwe Trust
  • RDC : Groupe TACCEMS
  • Rwanda : Positive Production
  • Togo : Kadam Kadam
  • Niger : ONG Culture Art Humanité
  • Collectif 2004 Images
  • Africultures Burkina-Faso
  • Bénincultures / Editions Plurielles
  • Africiné
  • Afrilivres

With the support of