Asmaa (2011)

Original title

أسماء

Directed by

Amr Salama

Genre

drama film

Country

Egypt

Runtime

1h 36m

Rated

15

Rating

8.0 of 10 from 41 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A woman in Egypt hides her HIV diagnosis to avoid stigma. She faces a difficult choice when a TV show offers her a chance to speak publicly. The film follows her struggle against social prejudice.

poignantsocially consciousemotionalsomberurgentrawsympatheticgrounded

What happens

Asmaa or Asma'a (Arabic: أسماء) is a 2011 Egyptian drama film, and is the first such feature film to present AIDS patients sympathetically. Written and directed by Amr Salama, the film tells the history of a woman with HIV who struggles to live under the burden of keeping her HIV status secret, and the dilemma she faces when offered the opportunity to appear on a television talk show. The film is based on a true story of a woman who died from a burst gallbladder after doctors refused to operate on her because she had AIDS. The director, Amr Salama, intended the film to raise awareness about AIDS: in his words, to correct the "misconceptions and lies" about the disease, since more people are dying from the misconceptions than from the lack of treatment. The film is not about AIDS, but rather the battle against social prejudice in Egypt. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Lust (2011)
• A Resident of the City (2011)
• Amar's Hands (2011)
• Cairo 678 (2010)
• Intact One (2011)
• Bentein Men Misr (2010)
• Hamam Sokhon (2021)
• For the First Time (2025)