Salma, lonely after the unexpected death of her mother, begins receiving a series of anonymous letters, complete with old pictures and cassettes of her beloved singer Mohammed Mounir. Moving between the contrasting neighborhoods of uptown Maadi and sprawling, down-at-heel Shobra, she sets off to unravel the mystery. First-time director Khalil masterfully describes Salma's set of friends and family plus cairo's various social circles in bold, original, yet highly accessible, picture.


A film by Hala Khalil

Egypt, 2004, Fiction, 1h53

starring Hanan Turk, Hend Sabry, Menna Shalabi

First feature

Director: Hala Khalil

Writers: Hala Khalil (story), Wessam Soliman (dialogue) | 1 more credit"

Cast
Hanan Turk... Salma
Hend Sabry... Yusreya (as Hend Sabri)
Menna Shalabi... Doha
Amr Waked... Hisham
Hassan Hosny... Salma's father
Khaled Saleh... Ibrahim
Amir Karara... Tarek
Salwa Mohamed Ali... Azza
Khairy Beshara
Samy El-Adl... Uncle Rabie (as Samie Al-Adel)
Yasser Eltobgy
Ahmad Kamal
Hala Khalil... Guest
Marwa Mahran
Maha Abou Ouf... (as Maha Abu Auf)

Music by
Khaled Hammad

Cinematography by
John Hakiem

Director of photography
Ahmad Al Morsy (as Ahmed el Morsy)

Production Design by
Shereen Farghal

Art Direction by
Shereen Farghal

Set designer
Shereen Farghal

Graphic design
Bassem Morcos

Consultant: Dolby film sound (uncredited)
Mark Kenna

Camera operator
John Hakiem

Production Companies
Adl Group
Arab Company for Distribution

Distributors
Arab Company for Distribution (2004) (Egypt) (all media)


2005 | Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema 2005
Won: Horus Award, Best Director - First Work, for Hala Khalil
Won: Horus Award, Best Supporting Actor, for Khaled Saleh
Won: Special Award, for Hend Sabry

DUBAI FILM FESTIVAL
Programme: Arabian Nights
Premiere: GCC Premiere
https://dubaifilmfest.com/en/films/3792/the_best_of_times.html