Oscar-nominated 'The Square' not yet available in Egypt
With the recent violence in Egypt, the first Egyptian film nominated for an Academy Award is more relevant than ever, but not yet available for general viewing.
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.
