Judgment Day

​A.B. Shawky, 97 minutes, Adventure/Comedy, Arabic with English subtitles, Egypt, 2018. 

Beshay – a man cured of leprosy – has never left the leper colony in the Egyptian desert where he has lived since childhood. Following the death of his wife, he finally decides to go in search of his roots. With his meagre possessions strapped to a donkey cart, he sets out. Quickly joined by Obama, the Nubian orphan he has taken under his wings, Beshay will cross Egypt and confront the world with all its sorrows, its hardships and moments of grace, in his quest for a family, a place to belong, a little humanity.   

The film won ten awards, including the François Chalais Award at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, and the Tanit d'Argent Award at the Carthage Film Festival of the same year. It was also nominated for 13 international awards, including the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.