Last September was the world premiere of the movie “When We’re Born” at Gouna Film Festival, and it was attended by many stars along with the cast and crew. The film’s impressive cast includes Amr Abed, Amir Eid, Malak Hassan, Ibtihal El Serety, Sameh El Serety, Passant Shawky, Mohamed Hatem, Dana Hamadan, and Hanan Soliman. It was written by the late screenwriter Nadine Shams and directed by Tamer Ezzat. The plot follows three non-linear storylines of three different young characters: Amin, Farah, and Ahmed. All three are young people, probably in their late twenties or early thirties. Each one of them gets involved in some events where they need to make a very difficult choice.
First, Amin, played by Amr Abed, a fitness coach who works in a prestigious gym and struggles financially to support his new wife and family. Amin receives an offer to engage in some immoral acts in return for an irresistible amount of money.
Farah is a conservative Coptic girl, whose difficult choice comes from a place of love, but that does not make things any easier. She falls in love with a Muslim young man and he proposes to her.
The third character is Ahmed, a young man who wants to pursue a career in music against the will of his father, who wants him to become a businessman like himself.
Each character is introduced through a series of unfortunate situations, followed by musical narration performed by Amir Eid.
The movie asks a simple question that makes one wonder about their life, how they are living it and who they are living it for. A lot of our decisions are influenced by other people’s judgments and opinions, and that brings us sadness. It is a very simple yet heartfelt movie about three young people in Egypt, going through all-too-familiar struggles. We can all relate to at least one of them, which will make us reconsider how we view our lives and ask perhaps some deeper, challenging questions about our lives, others, and our happiness.
