ALFILM – Arab Film Festival Berlin

Namir Abdel Messeeh “Life After Siham”

Documentary, 2025, 76 mins.
Afterwards: Talk with Namir Abdel Messeeh / Moderation: Hana Khalil / English

Part of “ALFILM 2026”

  • Film
Arabic /  English /  French /  With English subtitles /  120-180 mins.

In this followup to his celebrated debut “The Virgin, The Copts, and Me” (2011), Egyptian-French filmmaker Namir Abdel Messeeh returns once more with an intimate portrait of his family. Stretching the limits of film as a medium, he still manages for his beloved, larger-than-life mother Siham to take center stage even after her absence.

Filmed over a decade, “Life After Siham” seamlessly interweaves archival material and intimate home videos with scenes from two classics of Egyptian cinema: “The Dawn of a New Day” (1964) and “The Return of the Prodigal Son” (1976) by Youssef Chahine. Cinematic canon, constant filming, and personal memories mesh together beautifully in this ultimate tribute to film as a medium for family healing, time travel, and communicating with the beyond.

Dates

Past
Sat 25.4.2026, 19:00 / HAU1

Credits

The 17th edition of ALFILM is funded by: Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung with financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Council of the Arab Ambassadors in association with the Mission of the Arab League, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient. In cooperation with HAU Hebbel am Ufer.

Location

HAU1
Stresemannstr. 29, 10963 Berlin

There are two marked parking spots in front of the building. Access to the Parkett by means of a separate entrance with lift when necessary. Barrier-free restroom facilities are available.

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