This film tells the story of the ongoing struggle in Egypt. From its start in Tahrir to the fall of Mubarak, we follow the characters as victory turns to the uncertainty of military rule and where everything they fought for is under threat. The world thought the Revolution had already been won but for our characters it had only just begun.
THE SQUARE is an intimate observational documentary that tells the real story of the ongoing struggle of the Egyptian. Starting in the tents of Tahrir in the days leading up to the fall of Mubarak, we follow our characters on a life-changing journey through the euphoria of victory into the uncertainties and dangers of the current 'transitional period' under military rule, where everything they fought for is now under threat. While the world saw that the Egyptian Revolution had been won in February, our characters had only just begun their struggle. The events of the year, seen through the eyes of the protesters living them, are a compelling narrative of the evolution of a revolution. Once the grand announcements have been made and the news cameras have left, a small group of idealists re-occupies the square in protest of continued injustice: deaths uninvestigated, activists detained, martial law still in effect. As the rest of the country tries to move on, their numbers become increasingly isolated and their willpower tested. They protest the rule of an army that the Egyptian public has decided to love. They occupy, are kicked out brutally, and re-occupy again. In May, sit-ins are outlawed. In June, they defy the prohibitions and return to the square only to be violently expelled in August. As elections approach in the autumn, their path diverges more and more from a country and world dependent on an election process that seems to betray the principles of the revolution. Elections in June bring us to the end of the movie and an uncertain future for the protesters, who are divided as to whether they should stay in the street or invest in a political process that they feel is compromised. The future of Egypt, the dreams of Tahrir, and the balance of power in the region is at stake right now. By following protesters from the utopia of Tahrir into the transitional period, full of opportunities and dangers, THE SQUARE explores what it means to risk defying power. The entire region is actively looking to Egypt for guidance and inspiration. Beyond the region, protesters (collectively hailed by Time Magazine as the Person of the Year for 2011) are alternately revered, maligned, hailed, neglected, physically abused and journalistically exploited; but in THE SQUARE we hear in the revolutionaries' own voices why it's worth it to risk life and limb for their ideals and the future of their country.
Producer
Director