A group of women coming from different social backgrounds, find themselves trapped by their quest for freedom. The film tackles the broader sense of getting trapped sometimes in one's own thoughts.
The entrapment here is not necessarily limited to the concrete walls and shackles, but sometimes it is imposed by the inner conflicts and ideas.
The women share similar dreams of breaking-free from the social constraints, however their different social backgrounds create a contrast when it comes to the levels of awareness, openness and methods to rebel against their realities.
The film received lots of positive reviews internationally, where it was described as “a powerful, inspiring and radical work that makes one excited to see what Khaled will come up with next.”
“Trapped is effective in making you, the audience, share the feeling of entrapment, experienced by these women”, by South By Southwest Festival Newsletter.
It was also described as “Touching and hopeful” and “A powerful story of women trying to fight for their freedom and finding hope in the person next to them”, by CINE Addiction.
The film previously toured a number of international festivals, including Karama Human Rights Film Festival in Beirut, Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film, Mostra de València –Cinema del Mediterrani, San Diego Arab Film Festival in USA, and Arab and Mediterranean Film Festival of Catalonia.
Trappedworld premiered in the Global section of the South By Southwest Festival, USA, to become the only Arab film screened at the American festival and the first Egyptian one in ten years. Prior to that, it was screened for 13 minutes at El Gouna Film Festival as part of efforts to raise funds for the film
Trappedis directed and produced by Manal Khaled. Screenplay by ManalKhaled and Rasha Azab.
Trapped stars Caroline Khalil, Reem Higab, Osama Abo Al Ata, Ne’ma Mohsen, Mona Mokhtar, Tharaa Goubail, Rajwa Hamed, Zeina Mansour, Habiba Effat and Fadel El Garhy.
MAD Solutions is in charge of the film’s distribution across the Arab world.
Manal Khaled is an Egyptian filmmaker who studied Philosophy at the University of Alexandria.
She worked as an assistant director at Misr International Film.
In addition, she has vast experience working with award winning directors, including: Saad Hendawi, Kamla Abou Zekri, Hani Khalifa and Mohamed Ali.
She also attended several master classes and workshops on filmmaking, screenwriting and film criticism. Most recently, she has finished shooting her feminist long documentary film An Hour or so with the American director Adolfo Martinez.
