Films in production or post-production
PERFUMED WITH MINT
Synopsis
Alaa is a 30-year-old doctor. In his clinic one day, he is visited by Mahdy, an old friend who needs help with a strange phenomenon afflicting him: mint is sprouting from his body. Alaa and Mahdy are without shelter. The scent of mint attracts danger, which chases them through their deteriorating city. They are led through a series of disturbing encounters with former companions. Those who were once bonded by devotion are now estranged, faithless, and reeking of mint. Will the two friends find a way out of this nightmare, constantly chased by memories of loss? Or will they be left to dry, waiting and hiding in the streets where they once lived peacefully?
Muhammed Hamdy
Alaaeddin Hamada, Mahdy Abo-Bahat, Abdelrahman Zin Eldin, Hatem Enam Moustafa
Anubis Film Productions (Egypt)
Tarek Geddawy
tarekgeddawy@gmail.com
Director’s statement
In its simplest form, Perfumed with Mint is about two friends who are tragically trapped in a survival conundrum. This story represents a generation who are contaminated with doubts about what awaits them, which generates a fear that manifests itself as a contagious illness. Paranoia does not demand context; it denounces itself by existing. I feel my subjects; I connect with them on many levels; I understand the wounds their bodies do not show, and that are nonethless the most painful. I understand their scarred bodies that are perpetually on guard, and I feel how exhausting that must be. My story is a ghost story. However, the ghost isn’t a spooky apparition that moves through walls; rather, it can be as delicate as a mint leaf in an uncanny world that allows excruciating emotions to rise again and expose their wounds. Perhaps at issue is connecting with those who have been forced to make sacrifices – and honor them by humming their agonizing whispers.
Biographies
Muhammed Hamdy is an Emmy Award-winning cinematographer from Cairo. He filmed and co-produced Jehane Noujaim’s Oscar-nominated film The Square (2013), which won the Audience Award for World Cinema at the Sundance Film Festival and the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival; Greg Barker’s We Are the Giant (2014); Gini Reticker’s The Trials of Spring (2015); and Petra Costa and Lea Glob’s Olmo & the Seagull (2015), which won the Best Nordic Dox Award at CPH:DOX, and was named Best Documentary at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. Hamdy has filmed multiple television specials and commercials for networks including the BBC, HBO, Hulu, and Netflix.
Farès Ladjimi has been producing films since 2007. His ambition is to provide young creators with the means to express their vision of cinema, through supporting filmmakers and their films and identifying new talents from around the world. To date, he has produced or co-produced more than 15 feature films. Ladjimi is a member of the Ace Network (23). Most of his productions have had their premieres at festivals including the Festival de Cannes, the Venice Film Festival, and the Berlin and Toronto International Film Festivals. His most recent production, Ashkal (2022), was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.
€411 313
€321 312
AFAC, DFI, CNC (Aide aux cinémas du monde)
October—November 2023, Cairo (Egypt)
2024
