Cinematic Representations of the Changing Gender Relations in Today's Cairo

THIS ESSAY INVESTIGATES THE CHANGING gender relations and roles as represented in recent Egyptian films set in Cairo, in order to study the relationship between the individual and the restructuring of urban space in a rapidly transforming city. My main interest lies in what the new themes and approaches which Egyptian cinema offers to challenge the restrictions imposed on public and domestic spaces in Cairo, and the impact of such restrictions on the relationship between men and women occupying these spaces. I will focus on three Egyptian films which were produced in the past few years, namely: Dunia : Kiss me not on the Eyes (2005), 1 The Yacoubian Building (2006), 2 and In the Heliopolis Flat (2007).3 These films were selected because they challenge traditional ideas and conventions about love, sexuality and marriage in Egypt by redefining the relationship between people and the physical space they inhabit. The three films are not mainstream. The Yacoubian Building is the most renowned and popular of the three, both in Egypt and beyond.