A tantalising brief encounter in a classic romantic movie mode, Cairo Time traces the intimacy and understanding that grows between Juliette, a Canadian magazine editor (Patricia Clarkson, clearly etched and luminous as ever) and Tareq, the Egyptian friend (courtly, intriguingly unattached Alexander Siddig) assigned by her diplomat husband to show her the sights of Cairo.

As Tareq guides Juliette through the chaos and uproar and shows her the city’s wonders, their pleasure is increasingly shadowed by the loyalty they feel to the man who put them together – Juliette’s husband and Tareq’s friend. That Arab-Canadian filmmaker Ruba Nadda shot an entire feature in that glorious, infuriating melee of a city is a miracle in itself and one that any armchair traveller will relish. (Source: World Cinema Showcase 2010)