Auditory hallucinations, agoraphobia and extremism as portrayed by actor Ahemed Magdy

BMJ talk medicine

In this podcast, the Screening Room editor of Medical Humanities Khalid Ali explores the role of film in shining a light on mental illlness, dysfnctional families and the rise of religious fanaticism with Egyptian director Ahmed Magdy. Recently introduced to acting, Ahmed talks about his portrayal of three challenging characters: a young man imprisoned in his mother's house in 'Gate of Departure, Kareem Hanafi, 2015', an extremist who converts from Islam to Christianity in 'The preacher, Magdy Ahmed Ali, 2016', and a man troubled with persistent auditory hallucinations and a legacy of inherited mental illness in 'Ali, the goat and Ibrahim, Sherif Elbendary, 2016'. Ahmed Magdy studied Law in Ain Shams University, but pursued his passion for film by taking part in the Independent cinema scene in Egypt since 2008. Ahmed produced and directed a couple of independent films, and directed his own short "A cake filled with cream". To read more about Medical Humanities, please visit the journal's website (http://mh.bmj.com/) and blog (blogs.bmj.com/medical-humanities). More details on the films mentioned in this podcast: • Gate of departure http://m.imdb.com/title/tt4796556/ • The preacher http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/preacher-955026 • Ali, the goat and Ibrahim http://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/ali-the-goat-and-ibrahim-review-1201948436/.