The award-winning Egyptian documentary film "Lift Like a Girl" sheds light on one of the marginalized sports in Egypt which is weight lifters athletes. However, Egyptian weight lifters are well known globally as one of the most athletes catching middles in various international and regional competitions.
By her film, May Zeyyad, and her camera traces a journey of the legendary Captain Ramadan and his youngest trainee Asmaa also known as Zebiba.
After the last film screening at the Cairo International Film Festival, SEE News was there and had short interviews with the film's crew, Zayyed, and Egyptian legendary weight lifter Captain Nahla Ramadan.
"Shooting the film took almost 4 years because I wanted to trace this journey as Captain Ramadan was really known for his efforts in the Egyptian weight lifting scene," Zayyed expressed.
She added that she aimed to catch those natural feelings and moved the hard conditions those talented athletes suffer from. Also, she wanted to reflect those feelings on the screen.
Regarding the hinders the film faced, the director indicated, "Funding was the only we had. Everything else went well. I spent a good time with the crew and with Captain Ramadan."
Zayyed highlighted that the whole scenes of the competitions are real and were captured during the real events.
In the same context, Nahla Ramadan told SEE News, "We were happy for being part of this film especially it is honoring Captain Ramadan."
She added, "we are still suffering from the hard conditions. We try as much as we can to upgrade our training place. We believed in Zayyed and we hope people get engaged us and to the film."
On her side, Zebiba expressed to us her feelings during shooting the film especially after the death of Captain Ramadan, "It was a great sorrow to me, and somehow I am still sad for Captain Ramadan's death during shooting the film. He was my captain who I miss him."
She commented on her suffering as an athlete alongside her companions, "Experiencing stress, tension, and heavyweights affected me a lot."
Regarding the needs of this great team, they expressed that they need more care from the officials to continue their road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kniTJrexyNM
"Lift Like a Girl" is a wonderful documentary film that traces the journey of a rising athlete who gets ready for an African Weight Lifting competition.
The film depicts spontaneous moments of joy, fear, brokenness, and intimacy. It gives the audience real feelings those fighters face every time and how life in the training area looks like.
Moreover, Captain Ramadan touches the audience; he looks like a father and a leader. He never surrendered, and he pushed harder to give Egypt the best weight lifters in the history of the Middle East and Egypt.
The audience were deeply engaged in the film through those scenes of tears, hope, joy, and moments of victory. They also mourned for Captain Ramadan's death which was portrayed beautifully through zooming in his belongings, his chair, his garden, and his cigarettes.
"Lift Like a Girl" won three prizes at the latest Cairo International Film Festival. They are Youssef Sherief Rezallah Audience Award, Isis Prize for Best Egyptian Film that Represents the Role of Woman, and the Bronze Pyramid for Best First or Second Feature.
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