Egypt and France / 2005 / 28mins / Biography, Documentary / Arabic and French

In 1959 in Egypt, several thousand Communists were arrested and sent to prison camps. Amongst these prisoners was Waguih, director Namir Abdel Messeeh's father. Waguih was arrested in 1964. He was 29. Namir Abdel Messeeh grew up in France, and he never asked his father much about his past in Egypt. But in Toi, Waguih, Messeeh probes into long-buried family history, putting quiet, persistent questions to a dignified man who never spoke of the torture he once suffered at the hands of Egyptian authorities. Messeeh brings rich psychological perspective to the father-son dynamic and sophistication to his technique. Toi, Waguih was a Grand Prize winner at Rencontres du Moyen Metrage de Brive Festival.

Namir Abdel Messeeh

Born in Egypt in 1974, Namir Abdel Messeeh grew up in France. He studied film directing at the French national film school La Fémis in Paris, and he obtained a MA in cinema studies from the University of Paris VII. His short films include, You, Waguih (2005) and Quelque chose de mal (Something EvilLa Vierge, les Coptes et moi (2011) was nominated for several awards and won the Audience Jury Award at Nyon Visions du Réel 2012. Learn More