Filming in Cairo? Your Papers, Please

I have been to Cairo before, but not like this. Before, I walked anonymously; today, I’m part of a small group carrying a magnet for endless attention — a TV camera. And it’s not the sort of attention that we usually get — young kids waving their hands or coming to stick their faces in front of the lens (imagine me trying to record an interview on the drunken streets of Austin during the South by Southwest festival and you get the idea).

Here, the attention comes from the police. On pretty much every block. Every time the camera comes out.

I wrote earlier this week that to film in the southern suburbs of Beirut you need permission from Hezbollah. To film outdoors in Cairo, you need permission from the Egyptian Information Service Press Center and you must have a “minder” with you at all times. In fact, Issam, our very friendly and helpful minder, was good to have along, since anytime we stopped on our route, security personnel would immediately ask us for our papers. Issam would have a discussion with the officer, sometimes an argument, until the officer, who up to that moment seemed to care quite a bit, suddenly gave a disinterested nod. Our cameraman, who is very experienced working here, claims the police presence has nothing to do with security and everything to do with the vast Egyptian bureaucracy. After just a few days here, it’s easy to believe that.

The best moment of this day came after driving around and shooting a number of locations including the most famous ones. It offers a bit of insight into life in Cairo. We are standing on an overpass looking onto one of Cairo’s great open-air markets, with stalls of fabrics, shoes, flowers and more. There’s a swirl of humanity moving through and around the market. There are vehicles of every size and description moving through and around the market. Where we stand, cars, buses, motorbikes and trucks whiz past too close for comfort. There is noise everywhere. It’s hot and the air is dirty. It’s an impossible place to be. Why in the world would anyone ever stand here? And then, from below, there is one man, a policeman, who spots us and begins to yell and wag his finger at us – “This is not allowed.”

Issam shouts that we have our papers. Neither can hear the other, but they go on yelling and acting out their roles for some time. Finally, Issam gives up, laughs. The policeman simply walks away. He’s done his job apparently. Our cameraman, having ignored the whole affair, continues to shoot until we pack up and brave our way back across the highway.