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Set in the suburbs of Cairo, this short film follows a man dedicated to pigeon fighting. His dilemma lies between embracing a passion that will bring him pride, or leaving it behind and live up to the expectations of his social circle.
AWARDS: Best Short Film. Big Sky Documentary Film Festival/ Best Short Film. Boston Short Film Festival/ Best Documentary Short Film. Viewpoint Documentary Film Festival/ Best Documentary Short. St. Louis International Film Festival/ Stella Award Winner. Black Maria Film Festival/ Best Short Documentary. BBC Arabic Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS: Brussels Independent Film Festival/ Visions Du Réel Media Library/ Message To Man International Film Festival/ Sheffield Doc Fest Doc/Player/ Harlem International Film Festival/ Budapest International Documentary Festival/ SF IndieFest/ Verona IFF/ Irvine International Film Festival/ London International Documentary Festival/ Mostra de Cinemas Africanos/ BIG SUR International Short Film Screening/ ÉCU European Independent Film Festival/ Silicon Beach Film Festival/ Auckland International Film festival/ L.I.M.P.A/ Annual CPH Film Festival/ Great Lakes Shorts Festival
Koka, the Butcher. Pride and pigeon fights in Cairo
A young pigeon fighter in Cairo leads his area into the final battle.
Koka is a respected figure in Cairo's suburban scene of pigeon fighters. His life revolves around the races, in which whole areas clash in a contest to hunt and capture each other's pigeons. Living for one's passion, however, violates the norms of Koka's conservative area, Garbage City, where Cairo's Christian garbage collectors live.
As the face-off against one of the strongest areas in town draws nearer, the 30-year-old faces unbearable social pressure to leave pigeoneering behind, settle down and marry. A race against time begins in a peculiar world where pigeons are the foremost source of martial spirit and pride.
For the first time the legendary pigeon races of Cairo are captured on camera.
