STRAIGHT TO THE GOAL

Feature / Development Funding

Egypt \ Arabic, French \ 90 minutes

Director: Tamer Ashry
Production Company: Bee Media
Producer: Safei Eldin Mahmoud, Anna Elliot
Production Company: Red Star, Bamyan Media
Swedish Co-producer: Shaker K. Tahrer
Production Company: Black Bird Film

Synopsis:

Ali is 20 years old, and comes from a modest family in the Nile Delta region. Money has been an issue in his family. He has always dreamed of becoming a soccer star. Ali is recruited and moves to Marseille where a football agent, Jean-Marc, hopes to sign him to a pro-team. But as Ali begins training and displays exceptional talent, he is seriously injured. Jean-Marc decides to let Ali go as his monetary prospects will dwindle with the injury. Ali is forced to find work in order to help his family back home. He soon discovers the underground life of Marseille’s illegal immigrants, their survival strategies and coping mechanisms in the face of crushed hopes. As family pressures start to mount because of money, Ali becomes a drug-dealer. But through the descent into darkness, will soccer’s ubiquitous presence in the tough neighborhoods of Marseille and his budding love for Chloé, Jean Marc’s daughter, suffice to reconnect Ali with his lifelong dream? What if happiness could be found outside of soccer?

Tamer Ashry

Tamer Ashry is a director, producer, and writer with 15 years of experience working in film and television in the Middle East. His first narrative feature, “Photocopy”, has been screened internationally and won numerous awards including Best Feature at El-Gouna, Best Feature at Tripoli-Lebanon, and the audience award for Best Film at Malmö. “Photocopy” portrays an elderly man pursuing an unconventional romance in contemporary Cairo. Tamer’s short film, “Eyebrows”, about two Niqab-clad women in a shopping-mall, recently won Best Short at El-Gouna. Ashry also directed work for Emmy and Oscar-winning filmmakers Gini Reticker (Trials of Spring), and Thomas Lennon (Sacred). He was the recipient of the 2017 Meditalents Fellowship for Scripted Development. Ashry is co-founder and CEO of BEE Media, one of Egypt’s leading production companies. www.tamerashry.com

Safei Eldin Mahmoud

Safei is an Egyptian film producer who has been working in the industry for over 20 years. In 2013, Safei founded Red Star Production and Distribution, to produce a diverse portfolio of fiction and documentary films that appeal to a range of audiences and bridge the gap between independent and commercial cinema. Prior to founding Red Star. Safei’s recent productions, The Originals (Marwan Hamed), Nawara (Hala Khalil), and Photocopy (Tamer Ashry) have garnered critical acclaim and won over 60 international awards. www.redstarfilms.net

Anna Elliot

Anna Elliot is the co-founder and CEO of Bamyan Media. Anna has been living and working as a producer and creator of educational and entertaining content in the Middle East for over 12 years. She currently oversees all creative development for Bamyan Media, and was the executive producer of a series that has been viewed by over a dozen million viewers. Anna is an Echoing Green and Rainer Arnhold Fellow, given to social entrepreneurs tackling the world’s most pressing challenges. She graduated from Hampshire College with a self-designed major in media and sustainable development.

Shaker K Tahrer

Shaker K Tahrer has previously written, directed and produced the following short films: My “Father Doesn’t Cry” ( Min pappa gråter inte) and “Soccer-player at Midnight” (Fotbollsspelare vid midnatt) and worked with the following well-known Swedish actors: Lia Boysen, Anders Ekborg, Tomas von Brömsen and others. Shaker’s most recent film is a full-length feature film called “Damn Boys” (Jävla pojkar) which had its Swedish premier in April 2012, Shaker wrote the film’s score/script and produced it, the film has competed and was screened at several major film festivals around the world. “Damn Boys” was also broadcasted on the Swedish national Television (SVT).