The Virgin, the Copts and Me is a 2011 documentary film directed by Namir Abdel Messeeh.
It premiered at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival.
Synopsis Namir is Egyptian, a Copt, and now lives in France.Festival Cinema AfricanoEBS International Documentary FestivalKraków Film Festival The San Francisco ChronicleGerard Raymond, Tribeca Film Festival 2012: The Virgin, the Copts and Me, Slant Magazine, April 25th, 2012 When there is a family reunion, he buys an old video cassette recorded many years earlier at a religious holiday in his home village, when his mother said she had had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Namir realizes he has in his hands a very interesting subject for a documentary: he convinces his producer that it is a good idea and sets off on a journey that takes him back to his origins and puts his profession as a director to the test. However, he has not reckoned with his mother, the real protagonist of the story.African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival - Milan - 22nd edition (license CC BY-SA) Eventually, in her hometown, they recreate an apparition with the help of the other villagers.
Critical reception It was shown at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, the Festival Cinema Africano, the 2012 EBS International Documentary Festival, the 2012 Kraków Film Festival, the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, and at the 2013 Sydney Film Festival.E. Nina Rothe, DFI Presents Groundbreaking: The Virgin, the Copts and Me at Tribeca, Huffington Post, 04/27/2012
Variety drew a parallel between the Coptic minority in Egypt and the Egyptian minority in France, and they commended the editing.Jay Weissberg, The Virgin, the Copts and Me, Variety, Nov. 8, 2011 For Slant Magazine, the staged apparition brings the film to a "satisfying climax". The Huffington Post commended the director's decision to keep the footage filmed in 2010, prior to the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. For America, the "Coptic population" is "held together by a shared sense of self-abnegation and unwavering faith" and it is "faith that remains a rallying force for the Copts on the screen" despite their "victimized status as a religious minority".Victor Stepien, Keeping the Faith, America, October 8, 2012
References
External links
Namir Abdel Messeeh's official blog