The Wedding

Sameh Abdel Aziz's 2009 Egyptian film follows a man in debt who stages a fake wedding to raise money. Invitations go round the neighbourhood, a hall is hired, and everyone who comes is expected to leave gold and an envelope; the bride and groom are hired too. The film draws a portrait of a neighbourhood out of that setup. Everyone who attends has an account of their own, and as the night goes on who is deceiving whom becomes tangled. The comedy darkens steadily and the final section is openly harsh. The narrative shows the everyday forms of poverty in Egypt at the end of the 2000s; fraud is presented not as a trait of character but as a method of survival. Khaled El Sawy and Maged El Kedwany are in the cast. Who it's for: those who like socially grounded Egyptian drama. Who it's not for: viewers expecting light comedy; the film begins as comedy and ends in violence.