“Al Mosta’Mera” – on the trail of the dead father

An overcrowded bus brings the workers out of the city – towards an inhospitable place. The large, gray, loud factory with its giant machines that process the metal. The twelve -year -old Maro absolutely wants to come, accompany his big brother Hossam. “I’m no longer going to school. I want to work, ”he announced – and neither the outbreak of anger nor the blows of the big brother keep him from this decision. Arrived in the factory, the two are giving their way through the spark rain in the Hohe Halle.

This is the place where her father recently died. Was it an accident? You don’t know. Maro takes the father’s cap out of his locker, puts it on. “I take them.” But the two did not come because of the couple of belongings they find there. You want a job.

“Usually you would never work here if our deal would not exist,” says the company boss to Hossam after he asked his qualifications. The 23-year-old Hossam is considered non-protection and troublemaker. But there is an agreement: the family will not take legal action against the company after the father’s death, but Hossam gets work on one of the large, heavy machines. He has to bite through, nobody trusts him. Maro also works in the factory. The two brothers try to become functioning parts of the machinery.

The subtitle of “Al Mosta’mera” (“The Settleement”) is “a workplace thriller”. Here the factory will call the scene of unexplained deaths, opaque machinations and anonymous. The atmosphere is dark, uncomfortable. The colleagues talk – but what makes it true? “People overdo it here. Your father’s death was an accident, «says a colleague.

The film based on true events plays in Alexandria, the hometown of the director and screenwriter Mohamed Rashad. There is nothing to be seen in the film from the Mediterranade of the city in the north of Egypt with its magnificent houses. Instead, he shows dark places where drugs are being used, the factory at the gates of the city and the close apartment of the family, to which the mother is bound because of her sick leg. “Al Mosta’Mera” tells of the life of people who can choose little. Hossam seems to be turning in a circle. He is trapped in the dependency on his boss, his bad reputation becomes self -fulfilling prophecy.

Director Mohamed Rashad, who first studied civil engineering and then completed a two-year filmmaker training at the Jesuit Cultural Film School in Alexandria, realized his own short films and worked as an assistant to director. His first documentary film “Little Eagles” (2016) won several prizes at film festivals. “Al Mosta’Mera”, his first after -filling feature film, was premiered on Tuesday in the new competition “Perspectives” of the Berlinale. Rashad worked on the film for five years and also committed unknown actors and factory workers.

In his film, he captures social realities in an exciting, worrying way without sentimental. The only ray of hope for Hossam is the calls of a young, unknown woman. Everyday life is dominated by dependencies, lack of prospects and a spiral of crime and violence. “Al Mosta’Mera” is also the story of two brothers, which, despite adverse circumstances, hard words and gestures, is characterized by deep connection and tenderness.

Hossam is an ambivalent figure. With a gloomy look, he follows what happens around him. What is going on in his head, what thoughts and hopes do it remains unclear. His brother Maro looks childish and full of ideas in comparison. For him there still seems to be hope, perhaps a perspective – but that also depends on which way he decides.

The successful line -up, the realistic history and the unusual setting with its industrial aesthetics make “Al Mosta’Mera” into a film that is not easy to remove away.

“Al Mosta’Mera”, Egypt/France/Germany/Qatar/Saudi Arabia 2025. Director and book: Mohamed Rashad. With: Adham Shoukry, Ziad Islam, Hajar Omar. 94 min.
February 19, 1 p.m., Cubix 9; February 20, 9:30 p.m., Cubix 8; February 21, 3:30 p.m., Colosseum 1; February 22nd, 9:30 p.m. Stage Bluemax Theater