Aging. A thought that scares us and a reality we try to avoid regardless of its unavoidability. Not all ages feel these emotions on the same level. Perhaps they are most felt when transitioning from the twenties into the thirties. All the years prior to the 30s are widely considered the best days and most experimental days of our lives, that eventually base our future. The reality that one is now – to a greater extent than all previous years – is obligated to find out once and for all who they want to be and what they want to do, leads to pressure and deep flashbacks and reflections of and into the past.
“‘The struggles of the teenage years are known, and the midlife crisis is also known. But little do people know about the quarter life crisis.'” – Mariam Abdel Gaber
We recently came across a documentary called “Akareb El Sa3a” – which translates to “Clock-hands” – done by Mariam Abdel Gaber and we are in awe at the emotional accuracy of this video. If you are still young and can’t relate yet, or never went through this phase, or are going through this phase and need to feel like you’re not alone, this video manages to successfully resonate the emotions of this age transition to any viewer. The idea of this film came from Mariam’s realization that in a generic sense, the quarter-life crisis people face is underexposed. “The struggles of the teenage years are known, and the midlife crisis is also known. But little do people know about the quarter life crisis,” says Mariam. Mariam along with her team that worked with her passionately without anything in return, wanted to express the quarter-life crisis in a way that digs deep into the viewer. People tend to not only overlook this crisis, but underestimate its impact. “People always say ‘It’s ok, you have an entire life ahead of you’ and they take this crisis we are going through so lightly,” Mariam says.
“She brought the stories of ordinary Egyptians meshed with the stories of successful famous people”
Living and breathing the quarter-life crisis at this moment in time, Mariam managed to apply her own personal experience to successfully get her message across. She brought the stories of ordinary Egyptians meshed with the stories of successful famous people – the latest being Amy Winehouse – to express the concept that no one is immune to the quarter-life crisis, regardless of how successful they are or what they have achieved in their lives.
Before allowing you to watch the film to see and feel the impact for yourself, when we asked Mariam about the film, her first remarks revolved around thanking all those who passionately worked with her. She thanked Muhammed Mostafa for the film’s poster saying that when a real artist like him accepted to work with her, it was a push for her to not disappoint him with the film itself. She also thanked the kings of Lizard, Karim Mira and Amr Rabee for not letting her down for the second time in a row after her film “Al Qarar” and for being ethically great and she also thanked Ahmed Tahoun for his cinematography and friendly spirit. Last but not least she thanked Mazin Helal, for his support and for being a sound ninja. They made the journey of creating this film a pleasant and easier one for her to achieve, and for us an extremely rewarding experience!
We will now leave you with the film!
Check out the full documentary on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/nadyelvideo/videos/1744602012340641/
Or check it out below: