The Brink of Dreams

The town of Thônex invites you to watch the film The Brink of Dreams, by Nada Riyadh & Ayman El Amir, which won the FIFDH 2025 Geneva Grand Award. The screening will be followed by a discussion with co-director Ayman El Amir.

In a small, isolated, and conservative Coptic community in southern Egypt, five teenage girls break with tradition to form an all-female street theatre troupe. Aspiring to be actresses, dancers, or singers, they challenge their families and neighbours with provocative performances.

Filmed over four years, The Brink of Dreams portrays these young women’s transition to adulthood, capturing their hopes and fears while underscoring the gender inequalities they endure. In a blatantly patriarchal environment where their futures often mean early marriage and domestic labour, these teenagers carve out a rare space of freedom through art.