Tonight, Thursday, November 13, the feature film « As We Breathe » (Turkey), directed by Seyhmus Altun, will be screened as part of the Gala presentations of the 46th Cairo International Film Festival at 9:00 PM on the Grand Theatre stage of the Cairo Opera House.
Set in a small town in the Anatolian region during the early 2000s, the film follows Esma, a 10-year-old girl whose peaceful world begins to collapse after a devastating explosion at a nearby factory ignites an unrelenting fire. As toxic smoke envelops the town and contaminates the land, her family struggles to survive, and Esma begins to ask existential questions about life, death, and survival. The film merges a humanistic approach with poetic and environmental dimensions simultaneously.
“As We Breathe” marks the feature film directorial debut of Seyhmus Altun, who graduated from Istanbul Bilgi University’s Cinema and Television department in 2011. Altun has developed a diverse career in commercial advertising, television documentaries, and narrative cinema, focusing on intimate human stories and social and political themes.
In 2024, with funding from the Turkish Ministry of Culture, he completed his first feature film « As We Breathe, » which reflects his artistic vision contemplating the relationship between humans and nature and how disaster reveals the essence of humanity in its most fragile moments.
About Cairo International Film Festival
Cairo International Film Festival is one of the oldest and most esteemed festivals in the Arab world and Africa and one of the leading international festivals accredited by FIAPF. Established in 1976 and held annually under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, the festival combines artistic and professional dimensions, serving as a main platform for cultural dialogue and promoting Arab cinema’s presence on the international stage.
