Knowing that conflict was brewing once again in Egypt, Karin Muller took a huge risk. She set out to film a documentary on Egyptian life - in the middle of a revolution. For three months, Karin traveled alone from the upper Nile to the Red Sea, sharing the day-to-day lives of ordinary Egyptians. Through the eyes of fishermen and bakers, street dancers and Cairo's kamikaze taxi drivers, Karin discovered a side of Egypt that few foreigners get to see. Karin begins her journey in Upper Egypt, at an unusual Muslim celebration - a birthday party for Luxor's most famous saint. Huge processions fill the streets, but the heart of the festival is its elaborate fruit-filled floats. Fruit fights erupt at every corner, with bystanders hoping to catch a piece or two. For an entire day the locals dance in the street, wearing wigs and masks, their bodies painted blue. Hidden alleyways host bouts of Tahtib - ancient Muslim stick-fighting - and the central square is packed with children's rides, stalls selling toys and comfort foods, and even the occasional illicit gambling booth. But not everyone in Luxor is partying until late into the night. Lucie, a young French archeologist, has spent the last two years in Luxor, learning to speak Arabic and becoming a part of her Luxor neighborhood. Lucie has come to appreciate Egyptian family values and her neighbors have tried - unsuccessfully - to develop a taste for blue cheese. The village men are mostly poor farmers and Nile fishermen, barely surviving despite the government subsidy of wheat and fuel. Once a week the men attend the local livestock market - Egypt's equivalent of a Monday night football game. The bargaining can go on for hours, but after the deal is done everyone shares a cup of tea and a sheesha pipe. The topic of conversation is often Cairo - a magnet for poor rural Egyptians struggling to make ends meet. For those brave enough to make the journey, the odds are not in their favor. Unemployment is close to 30%. The few who do well have found a trade, like the ubiquitous roaming hibiscus tea sellers. In Cairo, the coffee house is the only establishment more common than a mosque. It's a male-only bastion where Egyptians from all walks of life gather to smoke, play backgammon, and argue politics. Revolutions are born in Cairo's coffee houses. Karin spends long evening with university students and local mullahs, piecing together the real story behind Egypt's quest for democracy. While the men are arguing over coffee, the women are usually out shopping. Most Egyptian women wear abeyas - robe-like dresses worn throughout the Muslim world. They may all look the same to Westerners, but there are in fact dozens of different styles. Since the abeya covers everything except the hands and feet, it's not surprising that Egyptian women are obsessed with shoes and handbags, even if they have to buy them in Cairo's second-hand markets. Not everyone in Egypt is struggling to make ends meet. Cairo's wealthier inhabitants can be found at local sports competitions or trying out the latest Western fads and fashions. Break dancing is popular, but the runaway hit in Cairo is Zumba. The women don't seem the least bit shy or inhibited but - even more surprising - neither are the men. Despite their tough-boy image, they're not the least big afraid of making fun of themselves. Over the past few years, Egyptians, both rich and poor, have developed a new favorite pastime - revolution. For five days Karin lives in the tents in Tahrir Square and captures a uniquely personal view of the fateful revolution that will bring all Egyptians together and then tear them apart. Men and women, old and young, Muslim and Christian - the whole of Cairo turns out in an electrifying time of incredible hope and expectation. Until the military steps in. In a classic coup, they remove the President from power. The Muslim Brotherhood immediately sets up camp in nearby Rabaa Mosque and the stage is set for confrontation. Egypt is suddenly on the brink of civil war. Karin leaves the escalating violence for the more peaceful countryside. But even here rage and fear have infected the population. Muller survived the revolution and military coup, only to be attacked by a spontaneous mob in a remote village in the Nile delta. Seriously injured, she is medevacked back to the States for emergency surgery. Egypt: The Gathering Storm reveals the many faces of this complicated land, where a fundamentally kind and generous people struggle to emerge from six decades of brutal dictatorship, fear, and propaganda.
