With the presence of filmmakers, critics and media outlets, Karim Hanafy's The Gate of Departure had its premiere on Sunday, November 8th, at Donia Karim Cinema, Downtown. The has already started its one-week release in Zawya, Downtown starting today, November 11th, 2015.

The attendance featured big-name film auteurs and key filmmaking figures such as; Director Daoud Abdel Sayed, Khairy Beshara, Ahmed Amer, Sherif El Bendary, Naji Ismail, Amir Ramsis, Magdy Ahmed Ali and Salma Al Tarzi, Art Director Onsi Abo Sief, Film Critic Wael Abdel Fattah, Karima Kamal and Sahar El Mougy and famous media figures; Gamila Ismail, Ingy Ali and Ingy Anwar along with the filmmakers; Director Karim Hanafy, Salwa Khattab, Ahmed Magdy, Amaal Abdel Hady, Shams Labib and Emad Hossam.

Director Daoud Abdel Sayed commented, "The Gate of Departure is a very important experience for the Egyptian cinema industry. I am very pleased with the film and the whole emotion-packed experience."

While Kahiry Beshara commented on the film, saying "The Gate of Departure is a very special experience, because Egyptian cinema lacks experimentation. The film is very much affected by the ideas of Danish philosopher Kierkegaard; it is a film about existentialism, about life and death." Khairy adds, "We notice that the film is full of widows, dead children, and one young man. All the settings, materials, and details are very old. The film carries a very nostalgic tone and appears to be a form of eulogy for a time and people gone by. Direcor Karim Hanafy deserves admiration for his boldness of self-expression in his first film. He creates what he wants, not what is dictated by others."

Gate of Departure's release at Zawya comes right after the film's US premiere within the Arab Film Festival in San Francisco, one of the biggest and longest-standing annual independent film events screening modern contemporary films from and about the Arab world. The film is also set to take part in the 26th Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia (21 - 28 November) to compete in the Official Competition Debut Film section.

The film recounts the story of a young man who dreams of exploring the world as he grows up in isolation along with his grandmother and mother, where due to the latter's fears that he would abandon her- just as his father did- decides to lock him up in the house.

Written and directed by Karim Hanafy, Gate of Departure stars Salwa Khattab, Ahmed Magdy, Amal Abdelhady and Shams Labib. The film is produced by Khaial Art Production with support from Egypt's Ministry of Culture with MAD Solutions on board as the film's distributor in the Arab world.

Gate of Departure has received wide critical and audience acclaim since last year, as it was the only Egyptian official selection at Cairo International Film Festival in 2014 winning the Golden Pyramid Award for Best Artistic Contribution.

The Gate of Departure is now screening at Zawya at 01:00 pm, 03:00 pm, 07:30 pm and 10:00 pm