WHAT COMES AROUND is an intimate and vivid portrait of the habitants of one of Cairo’s poorest slums and their alternative strategies of survival and community. The first feature-length film of Reem Saleh, will celebrate its world premiere at the section Panorama Dokumente of this year’s Berlin International Film Festival.

Director: Reem Saleh
Lebanon / Egypt / Greece / Qatar / Slovenia, 2018, 79 Min.

Original language & subtitles: Arab/ English

The Film

In Rod El Farag, one of the poorest residential areas in Cairo, obtaining meat, fruit and daily bread is a constant struggle, but the sense of community shared by the inhabitants helps them to some extent overcome their hardships through a social practice known as ‘al Gami’ya’, or ‘the assembly’, which also functions as an alternative banking system. More than support, the assembly is an integral part of their daily life, adults and children alike.

The assembly in this film serves as a portal to penetrate the vivacity of 5 characters over a period of 6 years. A rare, intimate and genuine portrait of life, witnessed through the eyes and voice of its characters in a place that doesn’t know rest, situated under a train station.

Between the omnipresence of the train and the search for daily bread, life happens…

The Director

Reem Saleh has directed the short film The Naked Eye, the stage play Wings written by Arthur Kopit, and contributed in the production of several documentaries for MTV Lebanon and Rotana Enterprise. She worked for Al Jazeera Children’s Channel as a producer, at the Doha Film Institute and as Deputy Director of the Ajyal Film Festival. She began her career as a stage and film actress after graduating at the Lebanese American University in Beirut with a BA in Radio, TV and Film.