DIRECTOR: OMAR HILAL
STARRING: MOHAMED FARRAG, NELLY KARIM, BAYOUMI FOUAD, TAHA DESOUKY, AMGAD ELHAGGAR
RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 47 MINUTES
The film tells the story of Hassan - a security guard living an impoverished life with his mother who dreams of traveling and living abroad. One day he stumbles on the sport of blind soccer and cunningly decides to pose as a visually impaired man to join a team right before the World Cup tournament in Europe.
STARRING: MOHAMED FARRAG, NELLY KARIM, BAYOUMI FOUAD, TAHA DESOUKY, AMGAD ELHAGGAR
RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 47 MINUTES
The film tells the story of Hassan - a security guard living an impoverished life with his mother who dreams of traveling and living abroad. One day he stumbles on the sport of blind soccer and cunningly decides to pose as a visually impaired man to join a team right before the World Cup tournament in Europe.
FILM REVIEW:
(This review contains spoilers.)
“I’ve lived my entire life programmed to get out of here.”
Voy! Voy! Voy! is the International Feature submission for Egypt. Set in 2013 during an extremely difficult period for the country, Hassan is trying to do anything to escape the country. When his 70 year old British fiancee unexpectedly dies and his dreams of heading to Europe shatters, Hassan begins to think of new ideas for his escape. He cannot afford the expensive smuggling route from Egypt to Italy since his current job as a car park security guard is barely enough to pay his bills. And with his limited education and mediocre skills, he has limited opportunities for success in a country where few options are available.
Hassan though is resourceful, and one day he meets a blind man at his job who looks completely normal. He then stumbles across a newspaper article featuring a team of blind Egyptian footballers who are scheduled to take part in an international competition in Poland. Being the con artist that he is, Hassan decides to feign vision loss and after practising to be blind in his impoverished apartment, he manages to join the football team, pretending that he recently lost his eyesight due to a brain disease. He’s an instant star on the team. And his path to Europe has begun.
To ensure identical opportunities for all players in this sport, everyone is required to wear blindfolds while competing. Every competitor has varying degrees of disability when it comes to blindness so this ensures an equal playing field. In addition, a ball with a bell is attached to it, which creates a sound when kicked enabling the players to locate it. They also have to say “voy, voy, voy” or “here I come” when chasing the ball, to prevent one another from colliding into each other. It’s a highly competitive, extremely difficult sport, made even tougher if some of the players can actually see.
Inspired by a true story that took place in 2015 the film sheds light on the illusion of immigration and the desire to have a better life anywhere other than home. Millions of people seek these opportunities on a daily basis. But the consequences and the dangers of that journey has cost the lives of too many people. For Hassan though, and for his friends, it’s worth it. For them it’s worth it to pretend to be blind, to con an older person into marriage, to take the treacherous boat ride to Italy. It’s the necessity to do whatever it takes to make it to the other end.
No one chooses where they are born. And so for people like Hassan, “I’m going” isn’t a question or a dream, it’s a decision that has been made in order to try to have a better life.
REVIEW: B+
(This review contains spoilers.)
“I’ve lived my entire life programmed to get out of here.”
Voy! Voy! Voy! is the International Feature submission for Egypt. Set in 2013 during an extremely difficult period for the country, Hassan is trying to do anything to escape the country. When his 70 year old British fiancee unexpectedly dies and his dreams of heading to Europe shatters, Hassan begins to think of new ideas for his escape. He cannot afford the expensive smuggling route from Egypt to Italy since his current job as a car park security guard is barely enough to pay his bills. And with his limited education and mediocre skills, he has limited opportunities for success in a country where few options are available.
Hassan though is resourceful, and one day he meets a blind man at his job who looks completely normal. He then stumbles across a newspaper article featuring a team of blind Egyptian footballers who are scheduled to take part in an international competition in Poland. Being the con artist that he is, Hassan decides to feign vision loss and after practising to be blind in his impoverished apartment, he manages to join the football team, pretending that he recently lost his eyesight due to a brain disease. He’s an instant star on the team. And his path to Europe has begun.
To ensure identical opportunities for all players in this sport, everyone is required to wear blindfolds while competing. Every competitor has varying degrees of disability when it comes to blindness so this ensures an equal playing field. In addition, a ball with a bell is attached to it, which creates a sound when kicked enabling the players to locate it. They also have to say “voy, voy, voy” or “here I come” when chasing the ball, to prevent one another from colliding into each other. It’s a highly competitive, extremely difficult sport, made even tougher if some of the players can actually see.
Inspired by a true story that took place in 2015 the film sheds light on the illusion of immigration and the desire to have a better life anywhere other than home. Millions of people seek these opportunities on a daily basis. But the consequences and the dangers of that journey has cost the lives of too many people. For Hassan though, and for his friends, it’s worth it. For them it’s worth it to pretend to be blind, to con an older person into marriage, to take the treacherous boat ride to Italy. It’s the necessity to do whatever it takes to make it to the other end.
No one chooses where they are born. And so for people like Hassan, “I’m going” isn’t a question or a dream, it’s a decision that has been made in order to try to have a better life.
REVIEW: B+
