Once a member of the notorious groups that were coerced by the Egyptian government to attack the protestors in Tahir Square in 2011, Mahmoud has since lost his job and been ostracized by his own community. A chance encounter with a secular young divorcee will change both of their lives forever.

One of the most undervalued of recent Cannes competitors is Yousry Nasrallah’s impassioned After the Battle. Deftly weaving between melodrama, poetic flourishes and the socio-political complexities of Egypt’s mid-revolution democracy, Nasrallah has made an admirably energetic and smart film.