![]() ![]() Rare though the film is, its plot has nevertheless also angered many gay Egyptians, who expect it to imply that homosexuality is something to be ashamed of. Some are scaring us artists from making movies about these things and it forces the whole industry to work on silly topics in order to get their work shown." "People don't want to talk about the three taboos – politics, religion, or sex. "We had two revolutions – but people's minds haven't changed," argued Fawzy. Homosexuality is not illegal in Egypt but those arrested are sometimes charged with offending public decency – or on spurious drugs charges. In October, police raided a gay house party on the outskirts of Cairo, and also arrested several people at a sauna known as a meeting place for gay men elsewhere in the city. Those who challenge sexual conventions are often ostracised by their families and sometimes targeted by police. But Family Secrets is likely to have drawn such a harsh reaction because it is one of the few to focus on homosexuality, a taboo for many Egyptians. ![]() "One did so after his father threatened not to pay his college fees," said Fawzy.Ĭensors exercise tight control over all films in Egypt and screenplays must be approved in advance. Two changed their minds after signing a contract. Fifteen actors turned down Marwan's role owing to the film's subject matter before Mohamed Mahran agreed to it. The edits, which Fawzy has appealed against, are the latest hurdle the film has had to overcome. They are also uncomfortable with a scene where a psychiatrist asks him if he wants to sleep with one of his male colleagues. Those who come out to their families in Egypt are often encouraged by their parents to do the same.Īccording to Fawzy, there are no sexually explicit scenes in the film but censors want to cut 13 details, including shots of Marwan resting his head on another man's shoulder in a cinema, and a crucial conversation about homosexuality between the pair in bed. Family Secrets tells the story of Marwan, a young man who visits five psychiatrists in an attempt to "cure" himself of what society has led him to consider a disease. ![]()
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