“The bombing is not over… but life will not be over”.
Sohab el-Ard (People of the Land) series ends with such a phrase written on the screen beside a young boy playing football amid the destruction and the rubble of houses in the Gaza Strip. However, the same phrase ignites many feelings.
The series stands out in this Ramadan season, even as the same season boasts over substantial 20 dramas of different types and lengths.
Since the airing of its first episode on the first day of the Islamic month, Sohab el-Ard has attracted strong viewership and sparked widespread discussions across the region.
The 15-episode drama is set against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, but its focus is not on military strategy or politics.
Instead, it focuses on the stories of the people who lived during and through the war.
The series features an Egyptian doctor (Menna Shalaby) who joins a humanitarian medical convoy that enters Gaza during the war.
Once there, she is confronted with scenes of destruction, overwhelmed hospitals and exhausted medical staff struggling to help war injured victims.
The series moves between different stories, including those of families trying to stay together, doctors working through impossible conditions, and people forming unexpected connections in the middle of chaos.
Apart from leaving a deep impact among ordinary viewers, it is receiving applause from critics.
Renowned critic Magda Maurice described Sohab el-Ard as the “most important” drama in years.
“It puts viewers inside the events, the place, and the time,” Maurice, who is also the Head of the Committee on Drama at the Supreme Media Council, said.
Speaking to The Egyptian Gazette, she added that the series makes viewers live the details of the suffering and the struggling of the people of Gaza.
“For me, Sohab el-Ard tops the list of best drama works this year,” she said.
Directed by Peter Mimi and produced by United Media Services, the series was, surprisingly, filmed in Egypt for the most part. Production teams built large sets to recreate damaged streets and crowded medical facilities, mimicking those of war-devastated Gaza.
The attention to detail, from the thunderous booms of distant explosions to the tight camera work inside hospital rooms, makes the audiences feel the series is natural and real.
The distinguished skill Mimi demonstrates in the series derives from an excellent record, spanning great works, such as el-Ekhtyar (Choice), a three-part series about Egypt’s struggle against the Muslim Brotherhood and their brand of radical Islamism.
Maurice also praised the scriptwriters of the series, Hisham Abiya and Ammar Sabri, who succeeded in making this work look like a copy of the daily life of the people of Gaza during the war.
“They have in fact succeeded in doing this with excellence,” Maurice said.
The United Company said it produced the series to support the Palestinian cause and document the aggressions and genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people.
Throughout the whole work, Mimi seemed to be preoccupied with delivering a work that is true to the real life of the people of Gaza. The costumes, hair style and daily routine came with no exaggeration.
This made the actors appear natural to critics like Maurice who especially dwelt on the success of the director to do without makeup to make the actors lifelike.
“Shalaby appeared with a very natural hair tied to her back and normal clothes,” Maurice said.
Shalaby plays the doctor with depth, showing the emotions her character witnesses without dramatic gestures.
Actor Eyad Nassar also plays a Palestinian father who tries to cope with loss, while protecting what is left of his family.
The duo’s performance enriches the work. A supporting cast, chosen from different Arab countries, adds different voices and perspectives.
Maurice views the series as necessary to watch, even as it is emotionally-charged.
“It shows the reality, bringing the stories of the people we know little about from the news to light,” Maurice said.
Nonetheless, the show has also drawn criticism outside Egypt.
A spokesperson for the Israeli army criticised it, accusing it of offering a one-sided view of the conflict in Gaza.
This caused pushback from the production team which said their goal is to highlight human experiences, rather than make a political argument.
Here in Egypt, the same work is fuelling a lot of debate.
On Wednesday, the Journalists Syndicate in downtown Cairo hosted a panel discussion titled, “Sohab el-Ard between Drama and Politics: Gaza between Reconstruction and Geopolitical Reshaping”.
Scripters Sabri and Abiya attended the event. They said they were more focused on delivering real experiences for viewers.
The script, they said, was based on real testimonies from the people of Gaza who lived through the war, with a focus on the heroic Egyptian role, especially the efforts of the Red Crescent and medical teams.
“Politics came later, while the original focus was on the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the face of displacement, their struggle under war, and the idea of remaining on the land,” Sabri said.
“That was the focus of the dramatic narrative,” he added with firmness.
Nassar, who was also present, said he always wanted to serve as a voice for the voiceless.
“The project touches us,” Nassar said. “For me, as an actor, I wanted to be the voice of those people,” he added.
He said the issue for him was not about the war in Gaza, but about the whole of Palestine which is under occupation.
“The Palestinian issue is not about Gaza only,” Nassar said.
He expressed fears that resolving the Gaza crisis would deceive people into believing that the whole Palestinian problem is resolved.
“Sohab el-Ard focuses on this,” the Jordanian actor said. “It spotlights what happens in Gaza, but it also reminds people that most of Palestine is still under occupation.”
In the series’ final scene, the boy shouts, “goal”, with a voice that starkly juxtaposes with the booms of nearby explosions.
A phrase appears on the screen to affirm that life will always prevail, even when the enemy is near and death is around the corner.
