FILM: Cairo Station

Organisation: Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Parallax Media

Time: 04 November 2010 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Place: Leighton House Museum, 12 Holland Park Road, London

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Parallax Media present:

CAIRO STATION
(BAB EL-HADID)

Dir: Youssef Chahine | 1958 | Egypt | 76 min
Official Selection: Berlin Film Festival

Fifty years ago the young Youssef Chahine starred in and directed a powerful film that would become one of the seminal works of 20th century cinema: Cairo Station. Playing out like a great Neo-realist poem to the director’s adopted city, the film charts the story of Kenawi (Chahine), a crippled newspaper vendor who becomes consumed by the voluptuous drinks seller Hanuma (Hind Rostum) and dreams of whisking her away from her fiancé.

Part psychological drama part social treatise, Cairo Station fuses genres with audacious moments of formal brilliance and serves as a microcosm of Egyptian society. People from all walks of life pass through the station, but only the marginalised remain. Abu Seri (Farid Chawqi) tries to organise the railway porters whilst Kenawi’s continuous gaze and pursuit of Hanuma becomes ever more obsessive – creating an incredibly tense narrative. With forthright depictions of sexuality and the social divide, the film is imbued with a contemporary feel where the demands of youthful exuberance, modernity and western culture are all framed against tradition.

Passion, cruelty, repression and black humour all play out in beautiful black and white monochrome as the film draws towards its impeding final frame. Cairo Station is a masterpiece that will leave an indelible imprint on the cinéphile’s consciousness.

Programme curated by James Neil

Part of Leighton House’s Nour Festival of Arts

Thursday | 4 November 2010 | 7 – 10pm (film begins at 7.30pm)

Leighton House Museum
12 Holland Park Road
London
W14 8LZ

Tickets: £8 | £6 students
Booking essential on 020 7471 9153

For further information please visit:
www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums