Tamer El Said

Tamer El Said

Filmmaker

Tamer El Said is an Egyptian filmmaker known for his poignant storytelling that delves into themes of struggle and resilience.

Thinking Interesting Political Hate Heart Art
Born
January 1, 1980
Quotes
8
Rank
#1314

About Tamer El Said

Tamer El Said — Life and Legacy

Tamer El Said is a prominent Egyptian filmmaker whose work captures the intricacies of human experience, particularly in the face of adversity. His notable film, 'In the Last Days of the City,' reflects his unique perspective on the struggles of urban life and the resilience of its inhabitants. El Said's core philosophy revolves around the idea that struggle is an integral part of the human journey. He articulates this through his characters, who often navigate the complexities of life in a rapidly changing society. One of his key quotes, 'the struggle is part of the journey,' encapsulates his belief that challenges are not merely obstacles but essential experiences that shape our identities. This perspective invites viewers to embrace their own struggles as pathways to growth and understanding. His work continues to resonate today, as it reflects universal themes of resilience and the human spirit's capacity to endure. By portraying the raw realities of life, El Said's films encourage audiences to confront their own struggles and find strength within them.

Quote collection

Tamer El Said quotes

8 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

Tamer El Said Filmmaker
Popular

"Downtown Cairo is at the center of the city, it is a place that has to be shared between different classes. It's a place where you see the bigger picture of the city's social fabric. It's also a place where you see all the contradictions of having all these layers, classes, and differences at the same time. And this is also where they clash, and where they negotiate. They negotiate their demands, their tastes, the lifestyles they want to have. So it's a very interesting space. I think that Downtown has maintained that identity before, during, and after the revolution."

Thinking Interesting Identity
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Tamer El Said Filmmaker
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"I think that to me, films are personal affairs. It doesn't mean that I am against other people doing things differently, but I'm talking about what I can do. So I don't feel comfortable going to a new city or a certain class of which I don't have sufficient knowledge, doing research on that, and then writing a story about it I don't think I have the ability of presenting other people on screen in that way. It makes me uncomfortable. This doesn't mean that I only want to talk about myself. I want to talk about what I know."

Writing Mean Thinking
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Tamer El Said Filmmaker
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"Every film has a political side. It's something that you cannot ignore. Politics is a part of everything, it's how we speak, how we perceive one another, how we hold this interview: Everything is politics. But it's a very different thing to just stuff your film with political messages."

Political Different Speak
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Tamer El Said Filmmaker
Popular

"I hate political films that have one particular message that they're trying to convey. I think propaganda is very dangerous, and it's very easy for anything to slip into it. I also think that propaganda is something that defies the identity of cinema. I hate propaganda in cinema, even if it was promoting the political stance that I myself am allied with. I always say that the responsibility of a film is first and foremost: To be a film. It's not a manifesto, it's not an op-ed."

Hate Responsibility Thinking
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Tamer El Said Filmmaker
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"To me, a revolutionary film is not a film about a revolution. It has a lot more to do with the art form. It's a film that is revolting against the old established language of cinema that had been brainwashing the people for decades. It is a film that is trying to find ways to use sound and image differently."

Art People Trying
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Tamer El Said Filmmaker
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"I think as much as the city is changing us, our experience inside the city also changes. I think, a city like Cairo - and it's interesting because yesterday, a friend of mine told me the same this thing about New York - is a city that you can't control. It's very bold and very aggressive, and it will constantly resist any attempt at control. But even though you can't control it, you can find your path within the city. You can come to a better understanding of your relationship with it."

Thinking Interesting Understanding
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Tamer El Said Filmmaker
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"For me, filmmaking is an ongoing self-reflection process. I kind of push everything to the edge. I feel very exposed and fragile when I make a film. It's a process of dealing with loneliness. And it's also very dramatic - because while you are working on a film, you just realize how incapable you are of dealing with all these things. And you open yourself up, and it's like your heart is utterly exposed. And it's very tiring on a daily basis."

Loneliness Heart Kind
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Tamer El Said Filmmaker
Popular

"For Beirut it was the civil war, and the dividing of the city - which is something that is shared among Beirut, Berlin and Baghdad. And Cairo is a city that has a scar that was born after many decades of dictatorship - oppression shaped the people's lives, and forced people to grow up accompanied by fear. I belong to a generation that, whether we like it or not, was shaped by this fear of death or loosing the people you love, the threat of war, not allowed to be yourself, forced to be silent - as you watch ignorance occupying everything around you. And this is a deep scar."

Being Yourself Growing Up War
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