Safe Exit

Having made an impression on the festival circuit in 2014 with his feature fiction debut Withered Green (which screened in Locarno), Egyptian filmmaker Mohammed Hammad is back behind the camera with Safe Exit, one of the hotter tickets in the 2026 Berlinale’s Panorama sidebar. Blending topical themes with genre stylings, it’s the kind of clever crowd-pleasing endeavor that should enjoy plenty of success all around the world.

The plot revolves around the young Samaan (Marwan Waleed), who works as a security guard in an apartment building in Cairo. But this is no ensemble picture like Marwan Hamed’s The Yacoubian Building was. This is very much about this one man alone, and the inner turmoil that is part of his life: like many of his generation, Samaan lost his parents to the religious violence that has plagued the Arab world for years (in addition to Egypt, the film is produced by Libya, Tunisia and Qatar, with Germany as the European partner). As a result, he’s quite withdrawn, rarely interacting with people unless it’s strictly necessary. Then, one day, he makes the acquaintance of Fatimah (Noha Foad), and a friendship might blossom between the two, provided the young man’s trauma doesn’t get in the way…

The protagonist’s chosen profession is the ideal parallel for his psychological journey: while the image of the building may conjure a certain vastness and grandeur, it’s also a bit of a claustrophobic maze, matching the shifting moods that Samaan goes through on a daily basis as he tries to reconcile the pain of the past with his hopes for the future. Waleed’s performance, at times understated and then thrillingly expressive when required, captures all the nuances of a damaged individual with depth and care, delivering a portrait of a layered human being without ever descending into human-shaped trauma porn. Whether he’s alone or sharing the screen with the equally talented Foad, he’s a magnetic presence for the entire two-hour duration of this genre piece that is also equal parts compelling character study.

Besides Waleed, the real star player is Hammad himself who, besides writing, directing and producing the picture, is also credited as the production and costume designer. But this is no ego-fueled endeavor (for an example of the latter, festival veterans will certainly remember the endless repetition of Vincent Gallo’s name in the opening credits for his directorial efforts, and the sniggering that came about as a result). Instead, every task blends seamlessly into the bigger project, as all departments involved come together to create an epically intimate thriller of the soul.

Whether it’s Mohammed El Sharkawy’s cinematography, where the mundane and the nightmarish coexist with ease, or Muhamed Eltaweal’s similarly versatile work with the sound design, they’re all valuable building blocks in the crafting of something as deceptively powerful as the building where Samaan carries out his professional duties: much like the setting, Safe Exit is something where we can lose ourselves for a couple of hours, as we rely on the main character’s journey inward to lead us back outside, fulfilled after having spent this time with him, his inherited pain and the path that may help him begin to process it.

Director, Screenwriter: Mohammed Hammad
Cast: Marwan Waleed, Noha Foad, Hazem Essam
Producers: Kholoud Saad, Mohammed Hammad
Cinematography: Mohammed El Sharkawy
Production design: Mohammed Hammad, Nora Fawzy
Costume design: Mohammed Hammad
Sound: Muhamed Eltaweal
Production companies: Pariedolia Productions, Nomadis Images, Mayana Films, Wika Productions
World sales: MAD World
Venue: Berlinale (Panorama)
In Arabic
113 minutes