CAIRO — On the Egyptian screen, a kiss is not just a kiss, but a prelude to censorship. That's why many Egyptian directors limit kissing and sex scenes to a short peck on the lips before the lights dim, leaving the rest to the imagination of the viewers.

It is therefore no surprise that Ahmed Amer’s "Balash Tebosni" ("Stop Kissing Me"), a mockumentary that narrates the difficulties of a young director in shooting the perfect kissing scene, has been an adventure since 2014. The film had its debut at the Dubai International Film Festival on Dec. 7, but it remains unclear when or whether it will hit the Egyptian cinemas. Many critics expect the film to face difficulties from censorship authorities to get a permit for theatrical release in Egypt.

The film received an initial permit for its screenplay from the General Directorate for the Censorship of Artistic Works before shooting started in October 2014, despite the censorship authority’s earlier objections to the film’s name and to the kissing scenes. Amer stood firm against suggestions to reduce the kissing and the request to change the name to “Hikayat Qubla” ("Story of a Kiss"). Finally, the censorship authority gave its initial approval of the screenplay the same month and allowed the team to start shooting, postponing the discussion on the two issues until a copy of the film became available after completion.

After all the scenes were shot in March 2015, the immense task of obtaining copyrights started. The film had used clips from the most famous kisses in Egyptian films of the past and therefore permits were needed from the intellectual copyright owners. According to Amer, this process took quite some time.