THE FILMMAKER

Aida El-Kashef is an independent film director and producer, cofounder and Executive Director of Ganoub Film for production and distribution based in Cairo. Her graduation project and debut film Rhapsody in autumn received The Dubai Muhr Silver Award amongst other international awards. El Kashef also directed and produced A Tin Tale, a short fiction based on the true story of a young Egyptian sex-worker. El Kashef has also acted in several films, primarily in The Ship of Theseus, an independent Indian film which premiered in Toronto. El Kashef won best actress in the Muhr African Asian Awards in Dubai Film Festival, and the best supporting actress in the Indian National Film Awards.

THE RESIDENCY
During the film residency, Aida worked on The Day I Ate the Fish, a feature documentary that appropriates the principles of an essay film. It launches an expanded investigation of a collective case of four women currently serving prison sentences for murdering their husbands. As diverse as these women are, their cases reflect a common narrative of human suffering and ethical dilemmas. They put in question basic notions of human interactions, crime, punishment and justice within our state apparatus.