Sameer, Shaheer and Baheer… Men for Whom Nothing is Impossible

The trio composed of Ahmed Fahmy, Hisham Maged and Chiko have succeeded in finding a niche for themselves among Arab and Egyptian audiences without alienating regular moviegoers.The triumvirate began their cinema careers with an indie film titled “Rigal La Ta’araf al Mustaheel” (“Men for Whom Nothing is Impossible”). The trio collaborated on writing the screenplay and acting out the production which was to become one of the best known indie films for youths at the start of this century. The movie takes a sarcastic look at how Egyptian society deals with momentous historic events and provided a stepping stone for the team who later released another film titled “Waraqat Shafra” (“Code Paper”) that is of the same genre, a genre known to movie-goers in the West as “Spoof” films. More recently, the team has met with great success in their latest title “Sameer wa Shaheer wa Baheer”. For that title, the group chose the setting of the 1970s – a period that is familiar to many youths today from their parents attempts to depict it in a positive light. However, youth today seem to prefer to mock the details that make up that decade – details that vary from bright colors, strange music, silly dance moves, and of course, the way people talked. Despite the fact that the decade meant a lot to those who lived through, it seems to have little meaning for youths today beyond its glaring colors, bell-bottom pants and light-shows.For their latest work, the trio use the framework of the American production “Back to the Future” without copying its every detail. Thus they reproduced the themes of motherly love and time-travel to create a make-up suitable for a comedic picture. In their work the team sought to avoid inane jokes and hackneyed themes that have become common in today’s comedy, preferring the language and terms used by youths today. Thus, much of the language used in the film is quite explicit – something which critics have found too much to bear. However the truth remains that today’s language contains a lot of explicit comments.Despite the fact that the team tried to soften the impact of those comments by immersing them in dialogue, they nonetheless retain their comedic effect on the intended audience. The films cast and guest stars contributed a lot to the production and brought about a new means by which the film’s leading roles are allocated. Thus one can expect appearances by Ahmed El Sekka, Hassan Housny and Mahmoud Al Guindy to last only a few moments – a practice that is common in Western comedies of the same type.Mohamed Hafzy’s participation as a producer and screenwriter made the feat easier to pull off, moreover, his previous experience with that genre contributed to the group’s success. Hafzy produced both of “Waraqat Shafrah” (“Code Paper”) and “Zay Al Nahar Dah” (“On A Day Like Today”), two works which most Egyptian producers would have shied away from.Thus, it can be said that this latest effort brought together a group of youth to work on a project where producers are lacking – together with a director who put together an original idea that is not derived from another film.Hafzy deserves much praise for bolstering the efforts of the youthful trio. Moreover, the trio themselves also deserve praise for the work they put together – a work which represents a great addition to Egyptian cinema and a first step into new genres which are a first of their kind for Arabic and Egyptian cinema, thus raising our expectations for the future.