Nadine Labaki heads “Back to Alexandria” in Tamer Ruggli’s debut feature that allowed him to celebrate Egyptian women.
“I am very close to my mother, who is Egyptian. I don’t know if you know many Egyptian women, but they are exuberant, dominant and endearing.”
In a story based on his mother’s experiences, Sue (Labaki) returns home after 20 years. Her eccentric mom, Fairouz (Fanny Ardant), is dying. She gets into a pink Cadillac and starts driving to Alexandria, talking to Fairouz every step of the way. Even though it’s just in her head.
“This relationship between a mother and a daughter… There is so much depth to it and so much conflict, or at least that was the case in my family,” says Ruggli.
“In the end, this film is about loss and how we can deal with it. When we lose a parent, there are so many things left unsaid. These discussions might not be real, sure, but they allow her to get everything off her chest. She is able to affront her loss in a serene way and move on.”
A Studio Orange title, the film is produced by Tipi’Mages Productions SA, Les Films de la Capitaine, RTS Radio Télévision Suisse, Sunnyland Film and Doha Film Institute. Eva Monti, Menha El Batraoui and Enaam Salousa also star.
Ruggli, a Swiss director with Egyptian roots, wanted Labaki’s Sue to be lost in between different cultures as well.
“There is this saying that your childhood influences you as much as your country. You are attached to who you used to be and it can forge who you will become. I feel very Egyptian at heart, but when I am there, I am a foreigner. I wanted to show how it feels to go back to a place where you don’t really belong anymore.”
But such returns can also be joyful, he says.
“At first, she tries to distance herself from her native country. But then she falls in love with it again.”
“I wanted to show Egypt in a way I haven’t necessarily seen in any recent films. So often, directors focus on poverty, on its complicated political background. You don’t really see its beauty. I hope people will want to go there after seeing this film.”
As his protagonist jumps back into her past, recalling half-forgotten traumas and touching old wounds, he surrounds her with vintage clothing and classic songs.
“Egypt is one of these countries that often seems stuck in the past. When she returns, she returns to the country she used to know then, in a way. She travels back in time to her childhood, but I wanted it to feel realistic.”
He wrote his characters with Labaki and Ardant in mind.
“It’s risky, but I am a very visual person. I come from painting and drawing, so I work with concrete images in my head,” he explains.
“On set, we actually shared a lot. They know my personal history, I showed them photos of my family and my grandmother, I introduced Nadine to my mother. They were a part of it, too. At first, I wanted Fairouz to be meaner. But Fanny, even though she was saying the exact same lines, made them sound almost nice. Thanks to her, she doesn’t seem so cruel anymore. You understand their love a bit better.”
He looked to Pedro Almodóvar and John Waters when creating them both.
“I feel more comfortable when I write about women than men. It feels right. They always had these amazing female characters and Almodóvar shows there is always love between women, even when they lie to each other. He never mocks them. He just shows their different sides.”
In the film, Sue and Fairouz no longer have to lie. They get to share personal stories, even about their love lives.
“This daughter already knows some things about her mother. When she returns, she puts all these pieces together. She starts to understand who this woman was as a sexual being, a romantic being, she can see her in a new light.”
The film has its Arab regional premiere at Cairo Film Festival in November. Ruggli doesn’t expect viewers there to be surprised by the characters’ intimacy.
“I don’t think so, although maybe I am in for a surprise! It depends on each family, but in Egypt, we also share secrets. Even naughty secrets, if we happen to have any. I don’t think it will shock the audience,” he says.
“Sue has a career, she has a nice house, but she’s not yet the woman she could be. By confronting her mother, by liberating herself from these conflicts, she can finally grow. Some say that in order to become adults, we have to ‘kill’ our parents. Maybe we should all try it one day?,” he jokes.
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