Villa 69

• October 31, 2013
• Article

Best Director From the Arab World/ New Horizons Competition-  Villa 69 is the place of residence of Hussein a stubborn, discourteous, bad tempered old man. He gets help with the house shores from a man named Abdel Hamid, who is about to leave him to go and see his sick father. We get to know Hussein better and understand him more as the story progresses. He is an architect working from home who has stopped going to his office due to an illness; He lives in a house that once belonged to his father and is a person who does not like visitors, even if they are family and is very obsessive about the order of how his books are kept on the shelves in his living.

At first we find him annoying and irritating, but we later get the chance to see who he truly is. Hussein is a terminally ill man who is trying to make peace with the fact that he is very close to dying. He ends up teaching his great- nephew to appreciate poetry and broadens his taste in music. He even reconciles with his sister Nadra who he has been fighting with all the time. Hussein is effortlessly portrayed by Khaled Abol Naga, where we as viewers, are able to sense his disconnect ion from the world and eventually comprehend where his brilliant and acrimonious sense of humor comes from.

Ultimately, Hussein ends up making amends with both his past and his present. He says goodbye to his dear ones, his once girlfriend Sanaa and leaves villa 69 for one last time.

Villa 69 is Ayten Amin’s directorial debut; it stars Lebleba in the role of Nadra and Arwa Gouda as Sanna.  The film has been supported by SANAD, a postproduction fund established by ADFF in 2010.