CAIRO — On the third anniversary of Egypt's January 25 Revolution, activists were delivered a number of blows. Thousands of army and government supporters rallied in Tahrir Square, the iconic epicenter of the revolution. Security forces shot tear gas and bullets at a crowd of activists marching toward Tahrir, including Khalid Abdalla, one of the stars of "The Square," the Oscar-nominated documentary about the revolution.

Two days before this year's anniversary, two dozen friends gathered in the living room of a houseboat on the Nile to watch a pirated copy of "The Square." They booed and hissed when a military spokesman defends the state’s actions, and they clapped when a Muslim Brotherhood member denounces the group’s political maneuvering. The next day, Jan. 24, many of them woke to the sound of a deadly car bombing that echoed downtown, one of four blasts in Cairo that day.

As eight major US cities prepared for the film's cinematic debut, Tahrir Square was closed to traffic by military vehicles, and members of the Muslim Brotherhood were clashing with security forces in other districts. At least 14 Brotherhood supporters were killed.

The following day, the anniversary of the 2011 uprising, clashes among police, activists and Brotherhood protestors would leave more than 50 dead and in excess of 1,000 arrested, including journalists. Government supporters on Tahrir called for General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the defense minister, to run for president. On Jan. 26, the interim president announced that presidential elections would be held before parliamentary elections, altering an army-drafted political road map and increasing the likelihood that Sisi will be elected to lead the nation.