Premiering at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, this dreamlike tale of youth and resistance set in a surreal modern-day Egypt is also a stirringly beautiful ode to creative expression.

In an industrial zone somewhere in Egypt, rebellious 19-year-old Abdo alternately creates percussion music in his room and runs errands for tyrannical showman Shawky, who rules the town via his theatre company. The young man’s grandmother Galala manages a story shop, spinning tales for clients, while his teenage girlfriend Nunna is a sex worker who is trapped into her life by the oppressive Commander Borai but has bigger aspirations beyond their village. Stifled by these surroundings and captivated by Galala’s fantastical stories, Abdo aspires to take flight with Nunna to a distant land that offers the hope of freedom.

Filmed on crisp black-and-white 16mm, Hala Elkoussy’s second feature draws as much from regional folklore as it does from cinematic greats like Federico Fellini and Jean-Luc Godard, deftly warping the boundaries of the real and the phantasmagorical through lavishly composed frames that recall dreams. But East of Noon doesn’t merely revel in escapism: in portraying the harmful clutches of oppression, the Egyptian director’s distinctive, deeply imaginative vision offers an allegory for the liberatory power of art under autocracy.

“A sumptuous piece of filmmaking … A fervent, evocative satire capable of grappling with taboo subjects.” – Screen Daily