Thread by @joseph_fahim

A few weeks ago, Manal Issa, star of @netflix "The Swimmers", reached out. She wanted to talk about her disheartening experience with the film but insisted that the interview would not go out until it streams so that her testimonial wouldn't overshadow the work of her colleagues

After endless revisions and careful editing, here's the story of the making of "The Swimmers": the orientalist, shallow script, the unequal payments, and the mistreatment on set. This is the story the anglophone mainstream press did not deem worthy of reporting.

Coupled with Manal's testimonial is my personal take on the film, which I, like many anti-Assad Syrian intellectuals, found to be insulting to the Syrian cause.

Equally insulting was the director's self-promoting piece in the @guardian in which she illustrates an utter ignorance to Egyptian film history while casually dismissing the works of all Arab filmmakers over the past 12 years.

Manal's mom has died this week. Her bravery and resilience have been inspiring all throughout the incredibly difficult writing process of this piece.
This is my last article of the year, and the one I'm most proud of. For @MiddleEastEye

middleeasteye.net/discover/netfl…