There’s a certain freedom in anonymity; the freedom for example to skip school and go to the arcade, safe in the knowledge that no-one you know will see you, or be any the wiser. But what happens when you’re killing it in your game, only to find that your dad’s chilling at the arcade too?
But, wait, why is the dad turning a blind eye to this? Turns out he’s skipping dinner with the in-laws under false pretenses too. He won’t be snitching on his son… they’re in this together. But just when they thought they were both safe, a middle-aged woman flags them down, with the widest smile on her face. It’s mum’s best friend… and the group’s biggest gossip. Busted.
Moral of the story: Don’t go to City Centre Almaza if you don’t want to be seen. Everyone’s there.
Cultural / Context information for the jury
Cairo’s a huge, sprawling city, but inside that chaos, we’re a very tight-knit society, and our favorite hang-outs are neighborhood spots where the patrons are all regulars and more like family.
Malls however are the exception to this rule, and going to the mall is now an activity that can - and often does - take up the whole day. Each new mall that pops up is further away and larger than the one before. Forget bumping into anyone else there, you’ll lose yourself if you’re not careful.
City Centre Almaza however bucked this trend. Instead of setting up shop in a satellite city, it’s smack dab in the middle of one of Cairo’s busiest, most densely populated districts. It’s big enough to house everything you’d need in a mall, but still compact and cozy - the opposite of the overwhelming mall experience that we’ve come to consider as normal.
Provide the full film script in English.
This little wuss of a kid here is Selim
Selim told his mum he was at an after-school geometry workshop
You see, Selim failed two geometry classes and still doesn’t know a triangle from a rhombus
But that never stopped him or his equally obnoxious friends from skipping school and spending the day at the arcade at City Centre
But guess who’s sitting across the room, hanging out
Having pizza with his buddies?
Well if it ain’t Selim’s dad
And in exactly 8 seconds, he and Selim will spot each other
There it is. Bingo.
Normally, this would mean the end of Selim’s extra-curricular activities
But they’ll just pretend not to see each other.
Because you see, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree
And Selim’s dad has a lie of his own going for him
He actually told Selim’s mum that he’s staying late at work finishing up the annual audit and that he’ll be gone all day
So, are we even?
No. Now we’re not.
Because neither of these two idiots accounted for seeing their auntie Carol.
Not only is she the biggest gossip in town
She’s also Selim’s mum best friend
And will surely tell her within the hour
That she bumped into her son and her husband at the City Centre arcade
Selim’s dad now has a lot more to worry about.
Here’s some advice.
Just don’t go to City Centre.
Everyone’s there.