Through a link on Facebook, the screenwriter and director stumbled across an article about a team of blind Egyptian soccer players who arrived in Warsaw and vanished into thin air after it turned out they could actually see.
“They literally vanished into thin air, but it turns out they’re all visible at the end of the day,” Hilal said during a conversation about the film at Deadline’s Contenders Film International. “I was laughing, and all of Egypt was laughing.”
Hilal decided to use the premise of this true event for his directorial debut Boi! Boi! Boi!which has not only topped the Egyptian box office since its September release in Cairo, but is also Egypt’s official submission for the 2024 Best International Feature Oscar category.
“This was such a perfect vehicle to tell a story about illegal immigration, which is a big issue, the whole social problem of poverty and lack of opportunity that abounds in Egypt, and the political overtones, all of that. ” Hilal said. “But you’re telling that story in a really funny way, because it’s funny. It’s inherently funny, and I had a hard time writing the tone of the movie, like, should I make this dramatic? I had to make sure it was supposed to be funny. [I realized] That’s an interesting story. As you can see, drama and comedy coexist in this movie. ”
Related: Deadline’s Contenders International – Full Coverage
From Vox Studios, Film Clinic, and Image Nation. Boi! Boi! Boi! “Hassan” is a security guard who lives a poor life with his mother, but dreams of traveling and living abroad. One day, he discovers the sport of blind soccer and decides to cleverly pretend to be visually impaired to join a team that is about to compete in the World Cup in Europe. Along the way, he meets several characters, including an up-and-coming female journalist who follows the team and a middle-aged coach.
The film’s ensemble cast includes Mohamed Farag, Bayumi Fouad, Taha Desouqi, Amgad El-Haggar, Hanan Youssef, Mohamed Abdel-Azim, Haggag Abdel-Azim, and headliner Nelly Karim. will appear, with a special appearance by Passant Shawky. The film is produced by Vox Studios, Mohamed Hefzy’s Film Clinic and Image Nation Abu Dhabi.
Watch the panel video on Monday.