Palestinian filmmaker Said Zagha was turned away by Egyptian authorities in Cairo on his way to the El Gouna Film Festival to pitch his new project. The U.K. permanent resident has a Jordanian pass…
The U.K. permanent resident has a Jordanian passport that indicates he is of Palestinian origin. He flew into Istanbul on Friday, but was not allowed to board his Turkish Airlines flight to Hurghada, the Egyptian airport that services Red Sea resort towns, including El Gouna, the filmmaker says.
“I shared a copy of my passport with the festival in early September and did so with the Egyptian Consulate in London, and both assured me that I would have no problems entering Egypt,” Zagha tells. “Once I arrived, it was a different story. Egyptian border control told me that I cannot enter without ‘special security coordination.
The show, or in this case, the pitch, must go on, and Zagha eventually pitched his project, “Weedestine” — a heist thriller set in the West Bank — on Monday via Zoom. The project has received a production grant from the Royal Film Commission of Jordan. Zagha, who is a graduate of Ohio’s Kenyon College, is also a Berlinale Talents 2020 alumnus.
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