Jasmina Metwaly / Philip Rizk

OUT ON THE STREET is a film about a group of workers in Helwan, a working-class district in Cairo. Ten factory workers take part in an acting workshop. During the rehearsals, topics arise such as inequality in the workplace, police brutality and fraudulent fines, as well as countless stories of corruption and exploitation from capitalist employers. A studio on a rooftop with views over the heart of Cairo functions as a space between reality and fiction. Here the workshop participants throw themselves into their roles and back out of them and in doing so develop a piece that deals with everyday reality. OUT ON THE STREET combines scenes from the workshop with played scenes and photos from a worker’s phone, which are to serve as evidence in court in the fight against shutting down his workplace. The hybrid filmic approach aims to create a collective conceptual world that unites workshop participants and spectators in a more stretched social struggle.