Hassan and Marcus

Hassan and Marcus
Hassan and Marcus
	Promotional Poster
Directed by	Ramy Imam
Starring	Adel Emam ; Omar Sharif ; Lebleba ; Mohamed Emam
Distributed by	Good News Group
Release date	1 August 2008;
Country	Egypt
Language	Arabic

Hassan and Marcus (

comedy-drama film directed by Ramy Imam

.

Background

Being the first collaboration between

Coptic garb called for a boycott of his movies, and the resulting emotional distress is reported to have prompted Imam to move from his home in Cairo to a summer house in Porto Marina, a resort on Egypt's northern coast. Imam, Sharif and other collaborators on the film have vehemently defended its content and criticised many conservatives and religious extremists who consider it blasphemous

.

Plot

When the lives of Mahmoud, a

witness protection program

that requires them to disguise themselves as the Christian, Marcus Abdel-Shahid, and a Muslim sheikh, Hassan el-Attar, respectively.

When, unwittingly, they move into the same building, a friendship blossoms that must, along with a romance between the protagonists' children, withstand the difficulties of prejudice and social persecution.

Hassan and Marcus do not attempt to name the reasons for the tension between Christians and Muslims but, according to the political writer and Coptic Christian Sameh Fawzi, the conflicts have nothing to do with religion.

Cast

Adel Emam as Boulos/Hassan el Attar
Omar Sharif as Mahmoud/Marcus
Lebleba as Matilda/Zeenat
Hana El Shorbagy as Khairia
Mohamed Imam
as Gerges/Emad
Shery Adel as Mariam/Fatima

Themes

The film addresses issues of religious extremism, intolerance and sectarian violence, and emphasises the possibility of friendship and love among members of different religions.^[1]

Imam said of the film:

I have declared war using art against the extremists—against those who foment differences between us. I hope Christians and Muslims will leave the cinema and embrace one another.^[2]

Criticism

References

^ "Egyptian film laughs at prejudice", Yolande Knell, BBC News, July 26, 2008
^ "Egyptian film laughs at prejudice", Yolande Knell, BBC, July 26, 2008

External links

Hassan and Marcus at
IMDb

[1] "Egyptian film laughs at prejudice", Yolande Knell, BBC News, July 26, 2008

[2] "Egyptian film laughs at prejudice", Yolande Knell, BBC, July 26, 2008

[1]

[2]