A musical tribute follows a twelve year old child on his difficult journey to undergo heart surgery a thousand kilometers away from home. Though accompanied by his parents, this is a journey he must take alone. He leaves behind loving friends who bid him goodbye with a modern rendition of the Egyptian classic “ya messafer wahdak” (translation: Lonesome Traveler).

The Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation is one of the world’s most renowned heart facilities. It operates in Aswan, a thousand miles away from the home of our main character. Patients from all over the country embark on long and grueling journeys seeking treatment. Travel-ing in Egypt, where infrastructure remains substandard, is challenging especially when rely-ing on public transportation. The journey is physically and emotionally exhausting, on both patient and loved ones.

The foundation is collecting donations towards building a facility in Cairo, making treatment accessible to people from around the country.

The Holy Month of Ramadan goes well beyond fasting for Muslims. It is a time known for doing good deeds, and most importantly, for giving charity. It is the peak season for TV shows and entertainment. Families gather around to soak in the long line-up of series and programs, punctuated with abundant advertisements, for whom Ramadan is the most im-portant time of year. For charitable organizations that rely on donations, the Ramadan TV spot is of monumental importance. The content of the ads caters to audience’s emotions, and they bank on the audience’s elevated philanthropic proclivity during the Holy Month.

Though these ads target affluent Egyptians for donations, the organizations themselves ca-ter to lower-income families. To trigger audience emotions, the ads almost always feature gruesomely despairing storylines, and instead of raising awareness, they objectify patients. They point to the growing gap between the classes in Egyptian society.

The cinematography in this film was intended to reinforce the directorial vision, which meant that it was aimed to give the film a raw, genuine and intimate feel. Everything was shot handheld, and the shots appear laid out, seamless and nonintrusive, as if we, the crew, were merely there by chance and captured the moments. The handheld camera makes the film appear as a documentary would: this is a true story not one staged to solicit emotions from the rich. Though handheld, the shots are not overly shaky. To give the film a more cin-ematic feel, we printed it on film and then rescanned it. Thanks to this technique, the ad comes across as authentic and nostalgic. After all, this is a film about homesickness.