Maqamāt is a monthly short film programme, curated by A Kiss in the Desert in collaboration with Zawya; the leading art house cinema in Cairo. The programme is inspired by the Maqamāt, a concise  literary format, with recurring characters adapting roles, in a manner like that of a short film. 

The short films curated each month share a theme, and are screened with English/Arabic subtitles; aiming  to expand the short films viewership in Egypt.


June 2022: A Film within a Film

This edition’s theme is “a film within a film”. The selected films were screened in multiple international film festivals including Berlinale and Rotterdam.

The Programme


1. Rehearsal, Michael Omonua, Nigeria, 14’



How do you stage a miracle healing? Boundaries dissolve between church and theatre, faith and credibility.


2. Lemongrass Girl, Pom Bunsermvicha, Thailand, 18’



According to Thai superstition, a virgin can ward off rain by planting lemongrass upside-down underneath an open sky. As clouds begin to gather, a young production manager on a film set is tasked to carry out this tradition. As her fellow female co-workers shy away, she is left with no choice but to take on the burden of becoming the lemongrass girl.


3. À La Recherche d’Aline, Rokhaya Marieme Balde, Sénégal, 27’



Rokhaya, a young filmmaker returns home to Dakar to make a film about a local historical figure. Along her research, which consists of interviews with local personalities and fictional scenes shot on location, we discover the story of Aline Sitoe Diatta.