CAIRO, EGYPT
In the fall of 2006, Dan got a job on the production of an Arabic language television series in Cairo. He was originally slated for a six-week stint but the job expanded to eight months. He returned with a deep appreciation for the people and culture of Cairo, dozens of beautiful photos and video of a city in the throes of change. I was reluctant to include Cairo in our series, where I felt it would be unsafe to visit, let alone shoot video on the streets. As an American, I had deep concerns about Arab terrorism. Dan argued for pursuing the project, saying that the eyes of the world were on Cairo as the most populated and arguably the most influential city in the Arab-speaking world. Its streets echo Pharoanic, colonial and royal histories and it is a place of inherent contradictions, a clash of styles and centuries — friendly and suspicious, careless and reticent, tending forward and held back.
We plan to include a deeper and broader documentary component to this piece in progress. After all, Cairo is another sister city to New York City – and thus was born 49 Waltzes for Al-Qahira.