Zelal

Story

Synopsis

Zelal is a documentary that's an invitation to delve into the world of psychiatry and "madness" in Egypt. It meets the ordinary madmen and women banished to mental institutions by Egyptian society and offers more than just a journey into their world of shadows. The hospitals end up becoming the only place patients can conceive, not because they are truly "crazy", but because they fear the outside world. The film forces viewers to put their own preconceptions and interpretations to the test, reminding us that freedom is precarious in a society that does not tolerate any differences.

Directors

Marianne Khoury, Mustapha Hasnaoui

Writers

Mustapha Hasnaoui, Marianne Khoury

Language

English

Country

United Arab Emirates, Egypt, France, Morocco

Release date

9 September 2010