Fil al laylato ed dhalmaa

Mounir is a film-maker. He is sitting in his living room glued to the television. It continuously shows pictures of the Gulf War. A shot out of the window shows night-time Paris, the city of light in all its glory. Mounir keeps turning the television up until a neighbour complains and he irritatedly turns it down. When the telephone rings, he turns off the sound all together. The phone call is from a producer who asks him to take part in an episode film (one like The Gulf War and After). He enthusiastically accepts the offer, but after the conversation he starts fretting about an idea. He has to submit a preliminary suggestion quickly so he calls a few friends to get ideas. The first is Ibrahim, an Lebanese journalist, who tells him that he has lost his job because of the Gulf War. His magazine became a victim of the war because advertising revenue plummeted and the censor has made publication impossible. Mounir doesn’t dare to mention his film. A second friend is an Egyptian short-story writer. He has a story about two brothers, one in the Syrian army and the other in the Iraqi, who confront each other in war. Mounir doesn’t like the idea, but the friend insists. A third friend suggests he makes a comedy about the war, but Mounir thinks that is improper. What should he do?î