He's Dead Now (2022)

28-year-old Hazem welcomes men to his father's funeral on a cold winter night in Cairo. He seems indifferent; something is taking his mind off the whole situation. While listening to the Qur'an, his mother suddenly arrives and starts insulting the late father while exposing his extramarital affairs that left her solely responsible for her son & daughter. People are trying to shut her up; she is hysterical. What will Hazem do?

I've always wanted to explore my relationship with my family and their impact on me. I look back and realize I might be following in the same footsteps; I was a gear in this huge machine that would always inherit this life to the next generation. But what would it be If this gear stopped right here? What would happen if I took a different road that would create more choices and possibilities for newer generations? When I look further, I see the bigger picture, our society; after the revolution, our core problems were exposed, especially our attitude towards women and the standards we set for them that only a single act of rebellion would be oppressed vigorously in the name of religion and traditions, which lead us to the religious hypocrisy! Religion is present in every corner of our country and every aspect of our life, yet we don't care about it! I use it as an ambiance in the film. During the funeral, people simply don't care about listening to the sheikh reciting the Qur'an at the same time; they use the name of religion to condemn the mother's actions; Also, Inside the brothel, you can see some portraits on the wall have some verses from the Qur'an while at the same time, the workers are quarreling about the money and the customers. Here you can see Hazem, going through a turning point in his life. He sees his mother crying, screaming about the injustice she's facing all her life from his father and society. He needs to react; he and his sister are the only ones left for her. On the other side, there's Dalia, a sex worker; his emotions are attached to her; However, for her, he is only a client that should pay in advance! Hazem has two choices: Either let go of his toxic relationship with Dalia and his emotions or follow in the same footsteps of his father, which ended up tragically?