I Am the People - True/False Film Fest

I Am the People

In the midst of the Arab Spring, an Egyptian-French director stumbles upon a family far from Tahrir Square, whose lives are perched between donkeys and satellite dishes.
Director: Anna Roussillon
Runtime: 1:50
In-person: dir. Anna Roussillon
Fest Year: 2015
I Am the People is not another Arab Spring documentary. It is altogether different and somewhat radical in its conception. Egyptian-French director Anna Roussillon had the good fortune of finding a middle-class family located far from Tahrir Square who freely shared their everyday lives and political views. The heart of the film is the easy rapport that Roussillon shares with her subjects, ranging from good-natured teasing to more cutting remarks about the gap between the European worldview and the Arab one. This is a gentle, humanistic portrait of one family perched between old ways and modernity, between religious and secular, literally between donkeys and satellite dishes. Television and radio play a major role in the film, as political developments unfold with alacrity, but it is the sophisticated, grassroots commentary from family members that make this so special. (PS)