Hassan & Morqos (Hassan & Mark)
(Rami Imam, 2008, 112 min, Egypt, Arabic w/ English Subtitles, Color, 35mm)

The Arab world's greatest-ever film star Omar Sharif teams up for the first time with the Arab world's biggest box office draw Adel Imam in Hassan and Morqos, an often hilarious satire which attempts to tackle religious bigotry in Egypt. The film revolves around a Christian priest (Imam) and Muslim preacher (Sharif) who survive separate assassination attempts. Now on the run, the two men - who don't know each other - take refuge in the same safe house in downtown Cairo and assume new identities, with Imam's character pretending to be a Muslim and Sharif a Christian. A friendship blossoms between them that must, along with a romance between the protagonists' children, withstand the challenges of prejudice and social persecution.

Background: The film's message proved so controversial that Facebook groups sporting Adel Imam's picture in Coptic garb called for a boycott of his movies, and the resulting emotional distress is reported to have prompted Imam to move from his home in Cairo to a summer house in Porto Marina, a resort on Egypt's North Coast. Imam, Sharif and other collaborators on the film have vehemently defended its content and criticised many conservatives and religious extremists who consider it blasphemous.

Cost: Free and Open to the Public

Sponsors: Duke Islamic Studies Center (DISC), Program in the Arts of the Moving Image (AMI), Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies, Duke University Middle East Studies Center (DUMESC), Franklin Humanities Institute