Egypt / 2012 / 94mins / Drama / Arabic

Set against the momentous backdrop of the whirlwind protests of Cairo’s Tahrir Square that began on January 25th, 2011, this film by independent director Ibrahim El Batout takes us on a compellingly raw, starkly moving journey into the lives of activist Amr, journalist Farah and State Security officer Adel in the days leading up to the resignation of President Mubarak. Winter of Discontent shows the heady, surreal atmosphere of terror, uncertainty, and mass euphoria that surrounded those days that shaped history, and that continue to do so. It exposes the anger, the deceits, and the lies that people faced everyday during the years of Moubarak's rules.

Ibrahim El Batout

Ibrahim El-Batout was born in Port-Said, Egypt in 1963. Though he studied physics in school, he began working as a cameraman at the Video Cairo Production House and subsequently developed a deep interest in film. From 1987-2004 he worked as a director, producer and cameraman, documenting war zones for international television conglomerates. During this time El-Batout had a hand in capturing twelve wars on camera, including but not limited to Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Palestine, and the Iraq-Iran war. He has filmed many documentaries and has received much acclaim for his global work in areas of conflict. After being shot twice, in 2004 El-Batout returned to Egypt where his interests shifted to narrative film. Although his method of storytelling shifted, his work is still politically engaging and rooted in social conflict. In 2007, El-Batout co-wrote and directed an independent narrative, Ein Shams (Eye of the Sun), the first independently-financed film to obtain a commercial screening in Egypt. His 2012 drama, Winter of Discontent, was selected as the Egyptian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards. Learn More