Cairo Time

Last updated
Cairo Time
Cairotime poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ruba Nadda
Written byRuba Nadda
Produced byDavid Collins
Daniel Iron
Starring Patricia Clarkson
Alexander Siddig
Elena Anaya
Tom McCamus
Amina Annabi
Cinematography Luc Montpellier
Edited by Teresa Hannigan
Music byNiall Byrne
Production
companies
Foundry Films,
MISR International Films
Distributed byCinemien, Mongrel Media, E1 Entertainment
Release date
  • October 9, 2009 (2009-10-09)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,995,012 [1]

Cairo Time is a 2009 film by Canadian director Ruba Nadda. It is a romantic drama about a brief, unexpected love interest that catches two people completely off-guard. The film won the award for Best Canadian Film at the Toronto International Film Festival 2009. [2]

Contents

Plot

Juliette is a Canadian magazine editor who arrives in Cairo for a vacation with husband Mark, a UN official working at refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. Their children have grown and Juliette is looking forward to spending more time with Mark. Delayed, Mark asks his friend—a handsome Egyptian named Tareq—to watch over Juliette. Mark is continually delayed in Gaza, during which time Juliette makes friends with Cairo locals, North American and European residents like Kathryn, explores the city and the surrounding area, and finds herself falling in love with the city during her "Cairo Time".

Tareq is a regular (but not constant) companion during Juliette's extended time waiting for Mark, leading to a very close relationship between the two. While their relationship remains platonic, it is steadily headed to a stronger connection. After travelling to Alexandria with him to attend the wedding of the daughter (Hanan) of a girlfriend from his university days (Yasmeen), she admits that she will miss him when she returns to Canada.

The two visit the Great Pyramids—something Mark had insisted should be "just for us" on his sporadic calls to Juliette at her hotel room. Whatever change this may signify in Tareq and Juliette's growing relationship, they return to the hotel to find that Mark has finally arrived. Mark is happy to see Juliette, while she and Tareq adequately hide their sorrow over the end of their Cairo Time.

Production

When Ruba Nadda finished writing the script for Cairo Time she showed it to producer Daniel Iron of Foundry Films. Daniel, remembering Ruba's previous feature Sabah , loved the script and decided to work with her.

Atom Egoyan gave the screenplay for Cairo Time to Christine Vachon and Charles Pugliese at Killer Films in New York in 2005. Vachon saw there was a lot of potential in the script and decided to meet Nadda with Pugliese. After meeting Nadda they wanted to get involved in the project and thereby became executive producers. Because Canada did not have co-production treaties with Egypt they needed to find a way to shoot in Egypt anyhow. Iron was introduced to David Collins of Samson Films in Ireland by Ruba Nadda. Collins met Nadda at a film festival in Mannheim and in Rotterdam and was familiar with her work. Samson decided to join the project, making it a Canada-Ireland co-production, which allowed them to shoot in Egypt. [3]

Cast

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes certified the movie "Fresh" with an 80% approval rating from 81 reviews. [4] The Wall Street Journal said "Clarkson makes taking 'Cairo Time' well worth it", [5] while CTV News gave the movie a positive review stating that the movie as "A masterful look at repressed romance" giving it 3 stars out of 4 [6] [7] Picktainment.com said "Ruba Nadda's Cairo Time is a passive, delicate film with a mature respect for its surroundings and a profound understanding of neglect, especially in its subtle form." [8] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called Cairo Time "a fragile romance" and said about Nadda, "Just when you think you know what's coming, the canny writer-director Ruba Nadda (Sabah) makes sure you won't. Nadda lets the sensuous tempos of Cairo life seep into Juliette's system, and ours. It's a haunting and hypnotic film. And Clarkson's sublimely nuanced performance is in every way transporting." [9] At the end of 2010, Cairo Time was named "Best-reviewed romance of the year (2010)" by Rotten Tomatoes. [10]

Release

The movie was released in Canadian theaters on 9 October 2009. Cairo Time won the "Best Canadian Feature Film" at the Toronto International Film Festival 2009. The movie was bought by IFC during Toronto International Film Festival 2009 and released in the U.S. in New York and Los Angeles on August 6, 2010 with a wide release on Labor Day weekend of 2010 by IFC. [11] [12] Cairo Time grossed $66,245 in the opening weekend, ranking at #38. The film sold out all shows in the weekend in New York and Los Angeles, with a theater revenue of $12,450, the best per-theater-average of any film in release. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Siddig</span> Sudanese-born English actor

Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi is a Sudanese-born English actor and director known professionally as Siddig El Fadil and subsequently as Alexander Siddig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atom Egoyan</span> Canadian filmmaker (born 1960)

Atom Egoyan is a Canadian filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica (1994), a film set primarily in and around the fictional Exotica strip club. Egoyan's most critically acclaimed film is the drama The Sweet Hereafter (1997), for which he received two Academy Award nominations, and his biggest commercial success is the erotic thriller Chloe (2009). He is considered by local film critic Geoff Pevere to be one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation.

<i>Pathology</i> (film) 2008 American film

Pathology is a 2008 crime-horror film directed by Marc Schölermann, written by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, and starring Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Weston, Alyssa Milano, and Lauren Lee Smith. The film premiered April 11, 2008 in the United Kingdom and opened in limited release in the United States on April 18, 2008.

<i>Filth and Wisdom</i> 2008 film by Madonna

Filth and Wisdom is a 2008 British comedy-drama film directed by Madonna, starring Eugene Hütz, Holly Weston, Vicky McClure and Richard E. Grant. It was filmed on location in London, England, from 14 to 29 May 2007. Locations included two actual strip clubs in Hammersmith and Swiss Cottage; both owned by the Secrets Clubs chain. Additional scenes were shot in July 2007.

<i>Religulous</i> 2008 American film

Religulous is a 2008 American documentary film written by and starring comedian Bill Maher and directed by Larry Charles. The title of the film is a portmanteau derived from the words religious and ridiculous. The documentary examines and challenges religion and religious belief.

<i>Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience</i> 2009 concert film directed by Bruce Hendricks

Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience is a 2009 American concert film released in Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D. It was released in the United States and Canada on February 27, 2009 with the release in other countries later on. The film stars Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas of the American pop band, the Jonas Brothers, in their theatrical debut.

<i>Valentines Day</i> (2010 film) 2010 US romantic comedy film by Garry Marshall

Valentine's Day is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall. The screenplay and the story were written by Katherine Fugate, Abby Kohn, and Marc Silverstein. The film features an ensemble cast led by Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Héctor Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Carter Jenkins, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts, Bryce Robinson and Taylor Swift in her film acting debut. The film received negative reviews but was a box office success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruba Nadda</span>

Ruba Nadda is a Canadian film director. She made several award-winning short films, including Lost Woman Story, Interstate Love Story, So Far Gone and Damascus Nights before writing and directing features I Always Come to You, Unsettled and Sabah. Her movie Cairo Time won the Best Canadian Feature Film award at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and was Best Reviewed Romance on Rotten Tomatoes for 2010. She is known for shooting feature films in very short time spans.

The Twilight Saga is a series of five vampire-themed romance fantasy films from Summit Entertainment based on the four novels published by author Stephenie Meyer. The series has grossed over $3.4 billion worldwide. The first installment, Twilight, was released on November 21, 2008. The second installment, New Moon, followed on November 20, 2009, breaking box office records as the biggest midnight screening and opening day in history, grossing an estimated $72.7 million. The third installment, Eclipse, was released on June 30, 2010, and was the first of the series to be released in IMAX.

<i>Legendary</i> (film) 2010 American sports drama film by Mel Damski

Legendary is a 2010 American sports drama film directed by Mel Damski. The film stars Devon Graye as a high school wrestler, in a cast that features John Cena, Patricia Clarkson, Danny Glover, Madeleine Martin, and Tyler Posey. The film was released on September 10, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Lopez filmography</span> Filmography

Jennifer Lopez has appeared in many motion pictures and television programs. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and is the highest-paid actress of Latin descent, making up to US$20 million per film role. She is also the richest actress in Hollywood, with an estimated net worth of $400 million. Lopez made her acting debut at age 16 with a small role in the 1986 film My Little Girl. From there, she received her first high-profile job in 1992 as a Fly Girl dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Following her departure from the show in 1993, Lopez made two guest appearances in the television series South Central, appeared in the made-for-television movie Lost in the Wild (1993) and starred as Melinda Lopez in the television series Second Chances (1993) and its spin-off Hotel Malibu (1994). Second Chances and Hotel Malibu ran for only a brief period, receiving negative reviews. Lopez's first major film role came in the 1995 motion picture Money Train, alongside Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. The film faced negative reviews and is considered to be a box office bomb. Her next two film roles in Jack (1996) and Blood and Wine (1997) were received similarly; however, critics were divided by the latter. Lopez received her first leading role in the Selena biopic of the same name in 1997. The film was a commercial and critical success and is often cited by critics as her breakout role. Later that year, Lopez starred as Terri Chavez in the film Anaconda, which garnered negative reviews from critics despite being a box office success. In 1998, Lopez starred alongside George Clooney in the crime film Out of Sight (1998). The film met with positive reviews and was a box office success. In the same year, she also lent her voice to the animated film Antz.

<i>Undefeated</i> (2011 film) 2011 American film

Undefeated is a 2011 documentary film directed by Daniel Lindsay and T. J. Martin. The film documents the struggles of a high school football team, the Manassas Tigers of Memphis, as they attempt a winning season after years of losses. The team is turned around by coach Bill Courtney, who helps form a group of young men into an academic and athletic team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Burton filmography</span>

Tim Burton is an American film director, producer, artist, writer, animator, puppeteer, and actor. He is known for his gothic horror and fantasy films, such as Beetlejuice (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Corpse Bride (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Dark Shadows (2012), and Frankenweenie (2012). He is also known for blockbuster films, such as the adventure-comedy Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985), the superhero films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), the science fiction film Planet of the Apes (2001), the fantasy-drama Big Fish (2003), the musical adventure film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), the fantasy film Alice in Wonderland (2010), and film adaptations of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) and Dumbo (2019).

<i>Inescapable</i> (film) 2012 film

Inescapable is a 2012 Canadian political thriller film written and directed by Ruba Nadda. The film stars Alexander Siddig, Marisa Tomei, and Joshua Jackson. Siddig plays Adib, a former Syrian intelligence officer who becomes embroiled in a cat and mouse chase while trying to locate his photographer daughter, Muna, in Damascus. After an assignment in Greece, Muna takes a detour trip to Syria, where she becomes wrongly accused of espionage and held hostage by corrupt government agents. Inescapable follows Adib's struggle to return to Syria after spending over 20 years in Canada trying to build a new life for himself.

<i>The Square</i> (2013 film) 2013 Egyptian film by Jehane Noujaim

The Square is a 2013 Egyptian-American documentary film by Jehane Noujaim, which depicts the Egyptian Crisis until 2013, starting with the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 at Tahrir Square. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards. It also won three Emmy Awards at the 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, out of four for which it was nominated.

<i>October Gale</i> (film) 2014 film

October Gale is a Canadian thriller film written and directed by Ruba Nadda. The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival in the Special Presentations section of the festival. It was acquired by IFC Films and received a release in March 2015. The film stars Patricia Clarkson, Scott Speedman, and Tim Roth. Clarkson had previously worked with Nadda on Cairo Time.

<i>The Attack</i> (2012 film) 2012 French film

The Attack is a 2012 French/Belgian/Qatari/Egyptian drama film directed by Ziad Doueiri.

<i>Wolves</i> (2016 film) 2016 American film

Wolves is a 2016 American sports drama film written and directed by Bart Freundlich and starring Michael Shannon, Carla Gugino, Taylor John Smith, Chris Bauer and John Douglas Thompson. The film was released on March 3, 2017, by IFC Films.

References

  1. "Cairo Time (2010) Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. 2010-08-02. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  2. "'Cairo Time' Wins TIFF Award | SidCity.net | the official fansite for Alexander Siddig". 19 September 2009.
  3. "Cairo Time - official website". A.K.A. New Media Inc. Disclaimer. 2010-06-21. Archived from the original on 2010-03-23. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  4. "Cairo Time movie review pictures- Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. 2010-08-09. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  5. Morgenstern, Joe (2010-08-11). "Movie Review: Cairo Time movie review WSJ.com". WSJ.com. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  6. "Cairo Time - The Globe and Mail". The Globe and Mail. 2010-08-09. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  7. "Cairo Time - CTV News". CTV News. 2010-08-09. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  8. "Picktainment >> The Red Carpet Blog >> Blog Archive >> Best Actress Candidate". Picktainment. 2010-08-11. Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  9. "Cairo Time - Rolling Stone Movies - News and Reviews". Rolling Stone Movies. 2010-08-11. Archived from the original on August 6, 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  10. "Cairo Time movie review pictures- Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. 2011-02-22. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  11. "Cairo Time - IFC Entertainment". IFC Entertainment. 2010-06-21. Archived from the original on 2010-05-08. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  12. "Cairo Time - Box office Mojo". Box office Mojo. 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  13. "Cairo Time - IFC Entertainment". IFC Entertainment. 2010-06-21. Archived from the original on 2010-05-08. Retrieved 2010-06-21.