Anna Roussillon, I am the People, 2014. All rights reserved.In 2011, the world watched the people of Egypt rise up against the rule of a 30-year dictator. All eyes were on Tahrir (Liberation) Square; the heart of the uprising. However, Egypt is home to over 80 million people, 60 million of which live outside the urban centres. What were their experiences during this time? How did the uprising affect the typical day-to-day Egyptian family living 700 kilometres from the Square?
Anna Roussillon answers these questions in I am the People, by telling the story of a family in a small village on the outskirts of Luxor. Unlike most documentaries about the Egyptian revolution, which revolve around people’s experiences in and around Tahrir Square, I am the People captures the effect key historical moments have on a family of six (then seven) over three and a half years, in a beautiful Upper Egypt setting, against the backdrop of a fusion between modern and traditional.
Farraj, a loving father and hardworking farmer, tends to his crops in order to make ends meet and support his family. His wife works equally as hard, baking bread, scouting for butane gas cylinders, and also labouring in the field. The film shows the impact of the revolution and political turmoil that follows, on a traditional Egyptian family as they go about their lives.
