Whose Country?

Like all Egyptians, Mohamed Siam learned to fear the police – and particularly those in plain clothes. Under the regime of President Hosni Mubarak, corruption and impunity were rife. If you ended up in police custody, you could expect a serious beating – or worse. On January 25, 2011, ironically National Police Day, this fear turned to anger and revolution broke out in Cairo. The start of the uprising also marks the beginning of Siam’s investigation into the motivations of the men who make up the police force. He gets talking to a plain-clothes officer who has his own reasons to draw hope from the revolution. Siam visits him over a period of three years, at his home outside Cairo and at work in the city. In one-on-one interviews and observational shots filmed up close, the police officer and his colleagues reveal how the abuse works. Siam reflects in voice-over on his becoming closer to the officer and how he can reconcile this with the memory of his father – an investigator dedicated to fighting corruption.