The Groove of a Megacity - Cairo Jazzman

A risky undertaking: Egyptian Jazz musician Amro Salah tries to organise the Cairo Jazz festival in a time of increasing social and political tensions.

“Jazz is more than just a style of music”, says Amro Salah. “It’s about freedom.”

Salah, a jazz pianist, is an enthusiastic promoter of the genre. Every year he organises the Cairo Jazz Festival, but doesn’t view himself as a festival director: He is first and foremost a musician and fan.

In this music documentary, people close to Salah such as his fellow musicians and proud parents discuss his passion. In Egypt, jazz attracts a conspicuously young audience, emphasising the chasm between them and the older generation who rule the country. The authorities therefore provide almost no support to Salah’s jazz festival. The film follows him during the run-up to the festival and various major and minor problems crop up. “Egypt is full of surprises”, he observes when one of the locations suddenly becomes unavailable mere days before the festival. Luckily, as a jazz musician he is good at improvising.

Genre Documentary
Production year 2017
Recording location Cairo, Egypt
Director Atef BEN BOUZID
Assoc. Producer Sebastian Leitner
Production Company IckeKreuzberg
Producer Atef BEN BOUZID
Production Company SLfilm
Soloist Amro Salah
Soloist Michelle Rounds
Soloist Nabil Khemir
Soloist Kaz Okumura
Orchestra / Band Kaz Okumura Trio
Soloist Carlos Bica
Orchestra / Band OUM & Band
Soloist Carsten Daerr
Orchestra / Band Arabian Knightz
Soloist Soweto Kinch
Soloist Naseer Shamma
Soloist Adam Lukas