The Vote

Film phase:Post Production

SYNOPSIS

In the first elections after the fall of a dictator, three women candidates fight for a new Egypt, as millions go to vote for the first time in their lives. But as the media celebrates the birth of a new democracy, a more sinister power struggle is at play. Capturing an historic and bloody turning point in the struggle for the region, The Vote asks fundamental questions about democracy, betrayal, and what it means to truly manifest the will of the people.

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS

The Vote is co-directed by Hanan Abdalla and Cressida Trew

Hanan Abdalla looks directly at the camera. Black and white portrait.Hanan Abdalla is a British-Egyptian freelance documentary filmmaker. THE VOTE is her second feature-length documentary. Her first film IN THE SHADOW OF A MAN premiered at the Berlinale 2012, and screened at over 25 festivals worldwide, winning Hanan the Best Documentary Filmmaker Award at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. Born in London in 1988, and into the third generation of a family of Egyptian political activists, Hanan graduated from Oxford University where she studied Politics & Philosophy and has been in Egypt since February 2011, documenting & participating in the ongoing revolution while working with the independent media collective, Mosireen.

Cressida Trew looks directly at the camera. Black and white portrait.

Cressida Trew  is a freelance documentary filmmaker based between Cairo and London. Cressida won an Emmy Award for her work in cinematography on the Oscar-nominated THE SQUARE, Jehane Noujaim’s feature-length documentary on the Egyptian revolution after the fall of Mubarak, on which she also served as an Associate Producer. She studied English Literature at Cambridge University and performance at École Philippe Gaulier in Paris, learning documentary filmmaking at the DFG in London. She frequently works with the revolutionary media collective Mosireen in Cairo and is currently working on a feature-length documentary about soccer and power in Egypt.

NOW PLAYING

In June 2013, The Vote was invited to IDFA Summer School where we screened short scenes, and were mentored by Danish editor, Jesper Osmund. In January 2014 The Vote was invited to the Forum section of the Berlinale for a work-in-progress screening where we screened around 20 minutes of material followed by a Q&A. In March 2014, The Vote was invited to the first BritDoc and DoxBox “The Impact” regional workshop, where we screened around 15 minutes of the rough cut and were mentored by Sandra Whipham, Diana Jeroudi, and Orwa Nyrabia on developing an impact strategy for the project.