-[Yehia] I saw the cards. -[Ali] Seriously?
-[overlapping chatter] -[Mona chuckles]
[Ali] God help us.
[Yehia] I know who the killer is. It's Sherif.
-[Sherif] Sadly, that's right. -[Yehia] You dumb director.
-[Sherif] And you're an idiot. -[people chuckling]
Okay, you guys are lame, and I'm bored. I'm going for a walk.
Good riddance. You made me look bad with Sarah.
-Who cares about Sarah? -Let's go.
Cut the crap. You were shy with her.
To be honest with you, Yehia, Sarah is not my, uh…
-[Mona] I'll go put Layla to bed. -N… No.
[Layla] Come with me.
-[Monia] Stop talking. -[Yehia] She fell asleep.
-I'll go put her to bed and come back. -Okay.
-[contemplative guitar music playing] -[Mona] Let's go.
Sarah.
-[Sherif] Hm? -Sarah.
Yehia, can we not talk about anything now?
What's the matter?
[breathing deeply]
-[music continues] -[Nadia] I'm sorry, Ali.
I'm sorry, but everything is making me nervous.
I don't know why you're nervous, Nadia. We're gonna get married anyway, right?
[sighs]
Honestly, I thought you'd be happy.
When I told you I told Mom about it, you went silent.
You said nothing.
This is what's making me nervous, Ali.
I feel so pressured and I don't feel okay.
It's all happening too fast.
We were always planning to get married, right?
It's just that instead of getting married after two years,
we'll get married now, that's all.
[contemplative guitar music continues]
I know you're scared and nervous.
But I love you.
I love you very much.
Nadia, you are the one with whom I really found myself.
And almost like
I'm only living for you now. [chuckles]
I love you, too, Ali.
[music becomes moody]
[music stops]
[dramatic music playing]
NADIA SUMMER 2007
[music swelling]
ECHOES OF THE PAST
[music stops]
[water running]
[contemplative electric music playing]
[knocking]
Come in!
[music stops]
[door opens]
Nice to see you.
What is it?
Ali told me what happened with Sherif. That he met with Yehia.
Can anything ever happen without him telling you?
When do you plan to wean him?
Forget about all that now and tell me something.
Why is this Yehia issue not done with?
You said you'd handle it.
It's been too long already, and absolutely nothing is happening.
Except that danger is closing in on us. What are you waiting for?
I'm not waiting for anything.
I don't have to write you a report on everything I do.
Don't write me a report. Just put my mind at ease.
[chuckles]
Since when do you even care?
For years, you've been handing me crisis after crisis,
and then you just go and forget about them.
And I'm the one who handles them, and protect you all.
Exactly.
I stayed with you all these years,
because you were able to protect us.
If you can't protect us now,
then why should I stay?
Aren't we too old for this bullshit?
No.
But clearly, you're the one who's getting too old, and can't handle it.
[intriguing music playing]
No, you go home for the day. I'll drive.
[driver] As you say, sir.
[car door opens]
[car door closes]
[car engine starts]
[car drives away]
[intriguing music continues]
How could you be in the same place he is and not finish him?
I paid you double your fee, didn't I?
Upfront.
And nothing is happening?
Look into Sherif, like I told you.
[car door shuts and engine starts]
[snoring]
[distant siren blaring]
Lord have mercy! Good God!
Who are you? And how did you get in?
What kind of doorman sleeps this late?
Are you my wife?
You mean Nagat?
[quiet mysterious music playing]
In Girga?
Who are you? Why are you here? Don't mess with me! I could kill you for this--
Shh shh!
You know this guy, right?
No, I don't think so.
What is it? What is it, sir?!
What… What… What's going on?!
What… What… What is it, sir?
-[quiet mysterious music continues] -[man panting]
[object clatters]
Oh my God.
What is it, sir?
Know how long you'll do for this?
Not these.
Look around the room.
Seen him before?
No, I haven't.
I've never seen him, I swear.
When you do, call me.
Yes, of course, sir.
-[stool clatters] -[shudders]
[door creaks]
[door shuts]
[Sherif] I know. But those who are watching us don't.
-[Yehia] Okay. -[Sherif] Mm.
[Yehia] I'll have graduated from Computer Science…
-[Sherif] Mm. -[Yehia] do my masters abroad…
-[Sherif] Nice. -[Yehia] …maybe even join you in Spain.
-It's your turn to suffer. Give me that. -[Sherif] Hey.
-[Yehia] Let go. -[Sherif] You're going to break it!
-[Yehia] Let it go! -[Sherif] Dude, stop it!
I'm not handsome like you! Don't film me!
[Yehia] You're gorgeous. Come on.
[Sherif] Show me some respect, man. I'm the director.
[Yehia] Okay. But I'm the director now.
-[Sherif] Ha ha. Mm. -[Yehia] Mr. Sherif.
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
-Mom and I will be living together. -[Yehia] God bless her.
-No, I mean your mom. Yeah. Ah. -[Yehia, chuckling] My mom? So funny.
-Okay! I'll answer, I swear! Okay. -[Yehia] You bastard.
-Okay. -[dramatic music playing]
Well, five years from now,
I'll probably be graduating from film school in Spain.
-[Yehia] Mm. -I'll be finishing my graduation project.
All the film festivals will fight over me.
And I'll be deciding then… Do I come back and make films in Egypt?
Or stay in Spain?
But I think I'll live there.
And then come to Egypt to make movies and see you.
You know what, you dork?
I'll be the first Egyptian director to win an Oscar.
And who knows?
Maybe I'll be going from country to country,
making films in different places.
[dramatic music continues]
Who knows what tomorrow has in store for us?
But why are you so sure the tapes are still there?
[Yehia, exhaling] I'm not.
But I am sure I knew Sherif very well.
I knew when he was nervous.
Or lying.
[music becomes tense]
Or hiding something.
[clicks teeth]
But how do we know the truth of what happened 15 years ago?
There's our own memories of what happened.
[young Yehia] Nadia! Nadia!
[Yehia] Even if we're absolutely sure of them,
-There's things we didn't see. -[young Yehia] Nadia!
-[Yehia] And we don't know everything. -[young Yehia] Nadia!
[Yehia] There's the memories of other people… who saw the same events.
Nadia, what's wrong?
When we go back to Cairo, I'll tell you everything.
[Yehia] But how do we know if they're lying?
[ticking]
Hiding something?
Or if they also don't know.
[dramatic music playing]
Those tapes are the only things without lies.
They captured everything as it was,
not as we remember it.
But how do we get those tapes?
If the tapes are still there,
I might know where they are.
[tense music playing]
Wait for Sherif to come and he'll give you the camera.
He told me he won't be late.
[Layla] Huh? Um…
No, I can't. I'm travelling.
And he told me where to find it.
I'll get it and head out. Excuse me.
[door opens]
[tense music continues]
[tense music swelling]
[cell phone vibrating]
I have the tapes.
-What are you doing here? -[music stops]
-What? -And how dare you go through my things?
Y… You, uh… Why did you say you didn't have the tapes when they're here?
Because!
I want nothing to do with Yehia.
If you've gotten yourself involved in something--
-I want to know! Just like him. -[tense music playing]
That's your choice.
Just leave me out of it.
Don't come snooping in things that don't concern you.
No, Sherif. It does concern me!
And these aren't just tapes.
Unless they hold something you don't want us to know.
What do you mean?
[tense music continues]
[doorbell rings]
Is he with you?
[tense music swelling]
Daddy, why are you and Layla fighting?
No sweetie, we're not fighting.
Wait, Amira.
What is it?
-Take her and go inside. -What's going on?
Just go inside now!
I'm not going anywhere until I know what's going on.
[doorbell rings]
[tense music becomes quiet]
Hello, Yehia.
How are you?
I'm good.
Aren't you going to let me in?
Of course.
Come in.
[Amira] What's going on with Layla?
Who is this, and what does he want with you?
Now is not the time. I'll tell you later.
Keep the girl with you.
Or, take her and go out. Actually…
Just stay here.
[tense music fades]
[Aya] So, have you known Daddy for a long time?
That's right.
[Aya] How long?
How long?
Since school.
Since we were your age.
[Aya] Wow.
Such a long time.
How come we've never seen you?
He was out of the country, sweetie.
What about you, Layla? How did you meet him?
[Yehia] Your dad.
He introduced me to the whole family.
[dramatic music playing]
Aya.
Go to your mom, honey.
[door closes]
What are you hiding, Sherif? Why did you lie?
Protecting someone in the family?
Protecting yourself?
Of course not.
All I want is to be left alone.
What do you want?
I asked you for it, and you said you didn't have it.
Now I want to know, why did you lie?
Since you don't want to talk…
NADIA!
…then, we can watch it together.
[music becomes moody]
What are you doing?
[dramatic musical stinger]
[Yehia] This was the night before Nadia died.
I remember it well.
She came back that night, scared and crying.
When I asked her, she said she'd tell me in Cairo.
[moody music continues]
We never got there.
We never got there!
All this time, I thought of everything, every scenario, except for it being you!
-Me? You got this all wrong. -Why were you filming her?
You did it the whole time. Were you obsessed with my sister?
And you got scared when she found out?
What do mean? That I killed her?
You did 'cause she knew? Or 'cause she was with someone else?
Are you crazy? I never hurt her.
What do these tapes mean? What do they mean?!
They mean that I loved her.
I loved her.
I filmed her because I loved her.
I was just a kid… who wanted to be with her.
And you knew.
You all knew a long ago.
Me, kill her?
Me, Yehia?
I was at the DA's office, and I begged you.
"Don't do this to yourself."
If I had killed her,
would I have cared?
[moody music continues]
Because you felt guilt.
What guilt?!
If someone kills someone they love, would they feel guilt afterwards?
Your vengeance is not against me.
It's against them.
Nadia herself said they had her in a chokehold and she couldn't get away.
And you have the tapes now.
Go. Watch them all.
See who had her in a chokehold.
[music becomes ominous]
[music swelling]
Oh, you're here.
[Yehia groans]
[music becomes tense and dramatic]
Get inside!
What's happening? Who's that?
[man groans]
Is there another way out?
[Sherif] Follow me.
[tense dramatic music continues]
-[loud thud] -Okay, go there.
[loud thud]
[gasping]
[barking]
Shhhh.
[gasping]
-Hurry. -[dog barking]
The police.
[barking continues]
[grunts]
[tense dramatic music continues]
[barking continues]
[whimpering]
[electrical zapping]
-[electrical zapping] -[car starts]
[distant siren blaring]
[siren getting louder]
-[Ali] Mona. -[music stops]
Why did you cut ties with Dad ever since you left? Why did you stop calling?
[Mona] Again, Ali? Why are you bringing up all of this now?
[breathing deeply]
'Cause everything's opened back up since Yehia showed up.
[quiet dramatic music playing]
It's like I woke up from a coma.
It's the first time I think clearly since Nadia's death.
Who am I?
Who is our family?
[Mona] You know why I left Egypt and left everything behind, Ali?
Because I don't want to answer that very question you're asking.
I don't want to know who our family is.
I just want to know who I am,
away from them, and all the baggage that comes with them.
Uh… What do you mean?
I mean there are only two options, Ali.
Either we confront our parents, or we run away from them.
I couldn't confront them, so I ran away.
Does this have to do with what happened to Nadia?
What happened to Nadia, and what happened to Yehia…
I didn't want any of it.
Ali, if you're still stuck in the same place you were before,
you either leave or confront.
Don't just stand there spinning around in circles.
-[exhales] -[dramatic music fades]
Okay, Mr. Sherif, so, you don't know this man at all?
[chatter and bleeping on police radio]
No. I don't know him, sir.
And you, madam?
No.
All right.
Mr. Sherif, if he shows up, or if anything happens, call us.
Yes, of course.
[Sherif] Thank you.
[mysterious music playing]
[Amira] What's going on between you and those people?
And why didn't you tell them about Yehia?
And who is that Nadia who you loved and filmed?
-Fine. -[music becomes moody]
When you're ready to answer, I'll be at my parents.
Let's go, Aya.
Come on.
Come on. Come on.
Let's go.
No, sir. I'm out all day on errands for the tenants, they know it.
[officer] Mm.
If I'd seen anything, I'd have told you right away. I haven't.
[officer] Mm. Okay, Atwah.
You have my number. If anything strange happens, call me right away.
[Atwah] Yes, sir. Of course.
Let's go.
[music becomes mysterious]
[car door closes]
[Atwah] Yes, sir.
Who's the girl with the man whose picture I showed you?
[Atwah] I swear, sir, I didn't see any girls with him.
-If I did, I would say. -[siren blaring]
He was standing all by himself.
But there's something important, that you need to know.
The police has gotten wind of you.
Try to lay low. Vanish.
But the, uh…
The stuff, huh?
The stuff, sir?
Bake it into a cake.
[engine starts]
[echoing horse whinny] -[mysterious music stops]
[horse whinnies]
[Ali] I went to the factory today,
and I heard you fired 300 workers.
I had to do that, especially after the fire.
If it were up to me, I would've fired half the staff.
But that's against the law.
It's not right for them to be on the street all of a sudden.
Don't be stupid.
If I were to think like you,
I'd definitely go bankrupt.
You declared your dad incompetent.
[intriguing music playing]
Your grandfather was a kind man.
But sentimental, like you.
His workers used to play him for a fool.
All of the employees would steal from right under his nose.
And he would just look the other way.
Till we almost went bankrupt.
That's when I learned,
if you want to make a decision,
you need to be brave.
And I learned that once I make a decision, not to regret it.
[intriguing music continues]
[young Yehia] Nadia!
[Yehia] We swam for about 13 minutes, until the camera died.
It's weird that I remember it like it was one or two minutes.
What do you mean?
Where was the boat?
[young Yehia] Where's the boat?
Why wasn't it there?
[intriguing music continues]
D… Do you remember who was on the boat at the time?
[bird calling]
I remember that we all dove together.
Well… maybe you emerged in a different spot.
Not possible.
We just swam for a few minutes.
Or I can't remember.
NADIA?
-[Sherif] Louly. -[Layla] Yes?
-[Sherif] What are you doing? -I'm painting.
[Sherif] Are you going to ruin Nadia's things by painting butterflies?
That's none of your business.
I love Nadia, and I will keep painting for her.
[all chuckling]
It's fine with me, I like it.
[Nadia] Oh, wow. Oh my God.
[contemplative guitar music playing]
[lively music playing on video]
That's not how I remember it at all.
I mean, um…
I thought that Mona and Nadia used to dress alike,
but obviously, I was the one who used to dress like her.
And then…
How come I don't remember how much I loved her?
And what difference would that make?
It won't make any difference.
But what I'm trying to say is that you and I are alike.
We're both not sure.
Not sure of what we remember.
[contemplative guitar music continues]
The beach house that you had there,
is it still there?
[music fades]
[playing moody music]
[keys rattling]
[plays wrong note]
Hey dad, it's not like you to stay up this late.
[breathing deeply]
I couldn't sleep.
Thought I'd sit with myself for a while.
Are you okay?
Yeah.
[breathing deeply]
I'm good.
[exhales deeply]
Do you think I'm good?
I don't know.
That's why I'm asking you.
Ah.
No, what I meant is, uh,
do you think I'm a good father?
[moody dramatic music playing]
Why do you say that, Dad?
Because I don't know anymore.
[breathing deeply]
I don't know anymore.
Sometimes…
All my life,
I've wanted a family.
Children and grandchildren, gathered around me.
And I take care of them and we love each other.
But I, uh…
there's no, um…
My relationship with my eldest son is shit.
He's better than his sister, though.
She hasn't talked to me in years, and I don't know why.
[moody dramatic music continues]
Even your mother,
the only woman I've ever loved…
Now, she sleeps in one room and me in another.
And why is all this happening?
Why, Lola?
You're the only one I can ask this question.
I don't know.
I don't know why all this is happening, Dad.
But maybe you and Ali…
He needs you to trust him more.
[clicks teeth]
No… No, no.
It's not about trust, no.
I, uh,
feel like it's come back for me.
Why…
What's come back for you?
My father.
Your grandfather.
I really wish he knew that I loved him.
But…
He died
without ever knowing it.
[chuckles]
And here I am,
and I also don't know.
And Nadia and Yehia?
Haven't you thought about what happened to them?
Uh…
[mutters]
Things happen.
But I…
just so you know, uh,
I gave him a lot of money.
I did my part.
Because I needed to protect my family.
[exhaling deeply] Ah!
You've heard enough for today.
Good night.
Ahhh.
[clicking]
[moody dramatic music continues]
[Sherif] Can you please look at the camera and smile?
[Yehia] Listen, Sherif. Tell you what.
It's really hot, and I'm not in the mood for you or that thing. Okay?
[Sherif] Fine. I'm fed up with you and I don't wanna see you again.
Listen, one more word, and I'll drown you and this thing. Give me a break!
[Sherif] No, it's not worth it.
I'm not a liar, Mona. You're a filthy family.
[music becomes ominous]
[Yehia] Nadia!
It's your fault! Why did you leave with the boat?
[Sherif] Calm down, Yehia!
Mona.
Smile.
[Mona] Are you going to film us for the whole trip?
[Sherif] I'm filming you guys for a documentary that's going to be a hit.
[scoffs] Okay, Mr. Director.
[moody dramatic music continues]
[music stops]
[moody techno music playing]
[moody techno music fades]