Impact

Training Site's Full Sponsorship

2021-08-16T13:51:25+00:00

Local fitness brand MOVE has taken the cast of Lift Like a Girl Film under its wings to help them prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The documentary follows a small weightlifting group training in a humble Alexandria neighbourhood. Filmed at their coach Captain Ramadan’s outdoor gym, the film offers insight into the intimate journey and inner life of these aspiring female weightlifters.

Fitness aficionado and founder of Move Egypt, Ali Ismail, was so moved by their story that he took his team and headed over to Alexandria, where they visited Captain Ramadan’s lifting arena. Ismail decided to fully sponsor and equip these inspiring young women with a world class weightlifting facility that can adequately support them, as well as give them technical knowledge with the help of his team.

“I was a professional track and field athlete back in the day, and I faced a lot of challenges in enhancing my performance,” Ismail tells #CairoScene. “I didn’t have the right ingredients to help me succeed. I wanted to support these girls so that I could give back in a way, because I highly admire their passion and hard work.”

With these new facilities, as well as an Opex fund that Move has opened for them as well as additional sponsorships to be secured on their behalf, Ismail hopes to ensure that these Egyptian female weightlifters can earn their rightful place in the upcoming Olympic Games.

Written By: Farah Ibrahim for CairoScene

Psychological Challenges Facing Female Athletes in Egypt

2021-07-02T21:51:13+00:00

On Friday, July 2nd, 2021, we had another panel after the film's screening in Zawya. The panel was about the "Psychological Challenges Facing Female Athletes in Egypt", and it was the second in a series of panels that the film team has been organizing to connect with the film's audiences, raise awareness and create social impact.

Our guest was Dr. Sarah Nazmy - Psychiatrist and psychotherapist who graduated from Alexandria School of Medicine in 2009. She completed an internship in Demerdash University Hospitals in Cairo 2010 -2011, before working as a psychiatry resident doctor in Maamoura Hospital for Mental Health and Addiction from 2013 to 2017 in Alexandria. Later, she completed the Fellowship Degree of The Egyptian Board of Psychiatry in 2018. Dr. Nazmy has been working as a specialist psychiatrist in "Recovery Center for Mental Health and Addiction Rehabilitation" since 2014.

The panel was moderated by; Mohammed Tarek - Film Critic and member of the Egyptian Film Critics Association (EFCA), who writes for many online websites, and print newspapers and magazines. He is also a Film programmer and the Head of the film review committee at El Gouna Film Festival 2021. Tarek’s articles focus on recent Arab and African cinema with a particular interest in the intersections between film form, social context, and gender issues.

Our guests with filmmaker Mayye Zayed - Image by: Mariam Abdallah

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Egyptian Women in Sport

2021-06-26T14:26:34+00:00

During the film's theatrical release in Egypt, we organised a very SPORTY panel in Zawya movie theatre in downtown Cairo after the film's screening on June 25th, 2021, where we invited an elite selection of female athletes who are passionate about their sports and had very inspirational journeys to tell, that are similar to Zebiba’s story.

The panel was moderated by Abeer Essawy; an Olympian Taekwondo player and the Executive Committee Member of Africa in the World Olympian Association (WOA).

We were very grateful to have these amazing guests and role models:

Abeer Abdelrahman - an Olympic champion weightlifter, the first female Olympic medalist in Egypt and the first Egyptian, Arab and African woman to receive two Olympic medals in weightlifting.
Shaimaa Samy - A Paralympic champion in 3 different sports; Discus Throw, Wheelchair Tennis, and Badminton. She's also the Bronze world champion medalist in 2013.
Nahla Sameh - A volleyball player in the Egyptian national team and the captain of the Egyptian national women team and Al-Ahly sports club. She is also the best African player and the winner of more than 60 national and international championships since 1998.
Lama El-Shawarby - A handball goalkeeper formerly for Al Ahly sports club and currently for El-Gezira sports club. She's also the former captain of the Egyptian national team. With her team, she won the African title in 2015 for the first time in the history of women's handball in Egypt. Also, she got 9th place in the world cup in 2016.

The audience had a great time listening the inspirational champions and how they always #PlayLikeAGirl.

The panel's guests with filmmaker Mayye Zayed in Zawya - Image: Onos

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