Underground-On The Surface Is Running for another Week in Cinemas

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Oka and Ortega's Film Captivates Audience in Egypt

Underground-On The Surface Is Running for another Week in Cinemas

Following a successful opening week in cinemas which witnessed huge turnout in various screening times throughout the day, Salma El Tarzi's Underground/On The Surface will be extended for another week in Zawya, Downtown, to be displayed at 05:00 pm only through the week.

Highlighting the accelerated growth of shaabi music and the rising of Oka and Ortega to stardom, Salma El Tarzi was awarded the Best Director from Dubai International Film Festival 2013. The film was released in 4 cinemas in Cairo and Alexandria last week by MAD Solutions. Underground/On The Surface marks the first documentary to be commercially released in cinemas since 2011.

Running for 70 minutes, the documentary highlights the growth of shaabi music which has been expanding most recently under the name mahraganat music (festivals music) in the heels of the 25th January revolution. Following the underground shaabi music scene, known as 'mahraganat', the film focuses on the surge of popularity this genre received following the revolution; Oka, Ortega, and Wezza, three of the movement's most prominent artists, are suddenly put under the spotlight, so the question is: will they be able to preserve their identity as independent artists?

Produced by AKER Productions of Mohamed El Tohamy in 2010, the film received funds from Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) and is distributed and marketed by MAD Solutions.

Born in 1978, Salma El Tarzi studied Film Directing at the High Institute of Cinema in Cairo. In 2004, she presented her documentary debut Enta Aref Leh? (Do You Know Why) which tracks the daily lives of models in advertisements that received a prize at the Rotterdam Arabic Film Festival.