The wait is finally over and the people behind the fan-favourite, El Feel El Azraa, dropped the full-length trailer for its sequel last night. In less than 24 hours, the film’s trailer has garnered over 3.3 million views on Facebook. Fans are reacting positively, and it seems like we’ll be standing in long queues at cinema theatres this summer.

 To be honest, we were a bit disappointed with the first part, unlike the majority of people. Yes, we know, it’s an unpopular opinion, but we’re quite a tough crowd, especially when it comes to filmmaking. However, we have high expectations for this one.

 For starters, having read Ahmed Mourad’s best-selling novel, the motion picture adaptation did not meet the high expectations we had. Knowing the dialogue by heart eliminated any possible suspense. But let’s face it, any film adaptation faces this challenge, and the common case is that it never satisfies the reader’s wild imagination. Part two, on the other hand, is written for the silver screen and is not based on another novel. Thankfully, we’ve already seen Ahmed Mourad experiment with that, as he joined forces with director Marwan Hamed, in El Asleyeen (2017). We’d have to say, the result was jaw-dropping!

 That takes us to the picture itself. Frankly, we’ve been noticing an impressive development in Marwan Hamed’s films. Hamed has always been one of Egypt’s most prominent filmmakers of the modern day. However, over the past few years, with films like El Asleyeen and Torab El Mas, which are also collaborations with Mourad, Hamed has taken his work to a whole new level.

 However, a director’s vision is incomplete without a pro DOP, and that’s none other than Ahmed Al Morsy, who previously worked with both on El Feel El Azraa’s first part, as well as Torab El Mas (2018). Al Morsy is no stranger to positive comments as he has more than 20 years of experience in the field with films like Wahed Sahih (2011) and El Hafla (2013) under his belt. Egyptian film picture quality has improved incredibly in recent years, and it’s safe to say that it’s competing with international standards.

 As for the graphics and special effects, well, this field, in particular, is known to be one of the Egyptian cinema’s points of weakness. But from what we see in the trailer, it seems like there’s a bit of an improvement, and at least it doesn’t look cartoonish.

 Moving on to one final factor, a very crucial one in fact; the actors. From the old cast, we have Karim Abdelaziz, playing the lead role of Yehia, and Nelly Karim, who plays Lobna. It seems that in this part, Lobna’s character is one of the plot’s cornerstones. We’re expecting that this time, Lobna wouldn’t just be Yehia’s love, but rather become one of the characters having a more powerful impact on the storyline. And of course, we don’t doubt that Nelly Karim will be able to pull it off.

 The new addition that seems to be dominating the film with an obviously vital role is Hend Sabry. The Tunisian actress is no stranger to making our jaws drop from her phenomenal performances. Whatever the role is, Sabry never fails to nail it, and this time, her character seems challenging with lots of layers, but we’re pretty excited to see the outcome. More additions include Eyad Nassar and Tara Emad. Oh, and did we mention that Marwan Younis is there too?

 El Feel El Azraa will be out in Egyptian cinemas this Eid El Adha. We’re definitely going to be first in line to watch it. So, stay tuned for all the juice in an honest review afterwards. Meanwhile, let us know your thoughts about the trailer in the comments.

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By Nadine Arab