LE PRINTEMPS D’HANA

Soon after the Egyptian President Hosni Moubarak stepped down on 11 February 2011, young Hana and her friends began distributing a “newspaper on the Revolution”, open to all and respectful of the freedom of expression. From the outset, the film accompanies the fervour of this young activist, whose wilfulness perhaps prepares her for disillusion. The passers-by that she stops, all older than herself, are quick to insist that even this “beautiful moment of joy” must come to an end so that people can “get back to work”… By filming the different environments in which Hana evolves and argues – her family, her circle of friends, the new political party she has joined – the filmmakers capture not only the historical advances and setbacks, but also a teenager’s energy that comes up against a great many relativist discourses and repressive actions. How can you make your way through a faltering revolution? How can you find your voice when tear-gas is being let off? Le Printemps d’Hana gives no lessons. At most, through the sobriety of its filming and the finesse of its title, the film juxtaposes the heroine’s youthfulness and the fleeting, yet cyclic, hopes of the now almost dated expression: “Arab Spring”. (Charlotte Garson)