Egyptian-Dutch director Ashgan Al-Hams said that the idea for the film “Al-Baraniya” began with her about four years ago, when she visited the village of Al-Baraniya in the Egyptian Delta for the first time. She explained that what caught her attention most was the nature of collective life within the family, where family members from different generations live in one house, share the details of their daily lives, and each takes care of the other. She pointed out that this lifestyle was missed in the Netherlands, where the family usually lives in a more independent context, and each individual and his small family has his own space.
Ashjan Al-Hams added in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat via Zoom that the presence of a grandmother, children, and grandchildren in one house gave her a different sense of the meaning of family, pointing out that the experience made her feel that there is a form of life that is no longer present to the same extent in more rapid societies.
She continued, “This feeling was also linked to the rhythm of life in the village, as the days there seemed slower and calmer compared to the life I know in the Netherlands,” explaining that she wanted this feeling to be transferred to the film itself, so that the viewer also feels that the rhythm of life slows down a little while following the events.
The events of the movie “Al-Baraniya” revolve around “Amal”, a young pregnant woman who lives with her family in the village of Al-Baraniya in the Menoufia Governorate in the Egyptian Delta, where the state of cohesion that brings together the family members begins to shake when one of the landowners offers to buy their land. Disagreements arise, and questions begin about the family’s future and its place.
With the visit of Amal's cousin coming from Cairo, a different picture of life opens up before her, and she begins to think about the possibility of choosing another path away from the path that her family has followed, generation after generation. Reem Amer stars in the film alongside real members of the Ashgan family.
Ashjan said that choosing “Amal” as a heroine came because she wanted a character who would stand in an area that would allow her to make real decisions about her future, explaining that “Amal,” due to her age and pregnancy, is at a stage in life in which the future is still open to more than one possibility. The younger children in the family look to the future through dreams, while the grandmother’s life seems more stable and steadfast. As for “Amal,” she stands in the middle, and she still has room to take a different path.
She pointed out that “the presence of her cousin, who is approximately the same age, was important in building this idea, because it presents before her another model of life, and gives her an opportunity to see what a different future could be like. The main character was the most appropriate to ask the question of staying in the village, or searching for another life, especially since her decision will not relate to her alone, but rather to the family to which she belongs, and to the child she is waiting for as well.”
Regarding her relationship with Egypt, the director explained that she grew up in Amsterdam, and that her father arrived in the Netherlands when he was twenty-two years old, but she has been visiting Egypt regularly since her childhood, and she spent in Egypt every summer for about a month, or six weeks, and therefore the town remained a strongly present part of her life, even though she did not grow up there, and did not live its daily experience in the same way that her Egyptian family lived.
She added that she studied cinema at the Amsterdam Academy, and began her career with screenwriting before moving on to directing short films, all the way to “Al-Baraniya” as her first feature film in Egypt, pointing out that her relationship with Egypt did not begin with the film, but rather preceded that by many years, which made returning to it through cinema an extension of an old personal relationship.
Ashgan said, “The Arabic language was one of the most difficult challenges I faced during filming, because I did not speak Arabic enough to manage all the details of the work easily, but the assistant director was present almost all the time, and conveyed the dialogue directly to me during the scenes, and also translated my directions to the family members participating in the film,” noting that Reem Amer’s presence was also important, because she is a professional actress and speaks English, and therefore was able to help her communicate with family members.
She revealed that the experience of filming the film helped her greatly improve her Arabic language, explaining that after completing the work she began to understand many words and details that she had not been able to comprehend before.
Ashjan confirmed that she chose to work with real family members, because she loves dealing with non-professionals, explaining that her method always begins with trying to get to know people before dealing with them as actors, and she would share with them a conversation about their experiences, fears, way of life, what they like and what they do not like, and through these details began the relationship that the film needed in order for the family members to appear natural in front of the camera.
She pointed out that the family members did not read the script in the traditional way, but rather relied with them on training and improvisation. She would explain the scene to them, and then they would begin training for it. This process continued for weeks until they became familiar with most of the basic scenes.
Ashjan Al-Hams pointed out that this method helped create a close relationship between her and the family members, stressing that working with them was not always easy, but it was one of the parts of the experience that she loved most, as her goal was not to turn them into professional actors, but rather to preserve their true nature in front of the camera, because their honesty was an essential part of the film’s identity.
She talked about the difficulties of filming in the Egyptian countryside, noting that the work brought together a Dutch team and an Egyptian team, in addition to filming in an environment completely different from the usual working conditions for part of the crew, so she faced multiple challenges throughout the filming period.
She pointed out that these challenges were not separate from the nature of the film, but rather came from within the experience itself, explaining that filming “Al-Baraniya” in the Egyptian countryside with a team that brings together different nationalities and experiences was part of an attempt to preserve the real environment in which the events take place.
A recent study led by a team of German researchers showed that smartphones can play an important role in early detection of eye diseases, especially in areas that lack specialized ophthalmology infrastructure.
An international team of experts led by the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) conducted a comprehensive review of the current global status of fundus imaging techniques using smartphones.
The researchers highlighted the technical and clinical capabilities currently available, identified the shortcomings of these methods, and explained the necessary conditions for integrating retinal imaging technology via smartphones more broadly into initial screening pathways, case classification, and telemedicine services.
According to the results of their study published in the journal Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, smartphone cameras can be combined with optical adapters and special lighting systems to produce solutions that may be of particular interest for telemedicine applications and for areas with limited access to specialized eye care services.
An international team, including experts from Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil, India and the United States, analyzed 30 technical solutions, in addition to 274 scientific publications and other relevant sources. Current evidence is of particular interest in relation to diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma-related changes, and selected applications in retinopathy of prematurity.
“Smartphone retinal imaging technology is well beyond the experimental stage, and our analysis shows that it is already capable of supporting specific scenarios for initial screening and classification,” Dr. Maximilian Wintergerst of the Eye Clinic at Bonn University Hospital said in a statement on Wednesday.
In areas that lack adequate ophthalmology infrastructure and specialized personnel, establishing comprehensive screening programs may be a major challenge given the infrastructure requirements and costs involved. Here, smartphone imaging could form a cornerstone of new, decentralized models of care. According to the scientific analysis conducted by the researchers, non-ophthalmology specialists from other health care providers can take valid images of the retina after receiving appropriate training. These images can then be sent via telemedicine technologies to specialized centers for evaluation. This approach is particularly important in cases of diseases that require regular screening of large population groups, such as diabetic retinopathy.
“The smartphone does not replace the traditional eye examination performed by a specialist, but it helps expand access to retinal imaging services and identify individuals with abnormal results at an early stage,” said Raphael Lichtenboimer, lead author of the study and a member of Wintergerst’s research team.
According to the results of the study, combining retinal imaging technology with smartphones and artificial intelligence technologies may play an important role in the future. For example, artificial intelligence systems can evaluate the image quality and its coverage of the desired area of the retina during the capture process itself.
“This automated support can help ensure that limited human resources are used more effectively, especially in screening programs that include large numbers of patients,” Wintergerst explains.
However, the analysis also shows that important issues still need to be resolved before usability can be widely rolled out. These issues include the differences between different smartphone-based imaging systems in terms of image quality and field of view, as well as their compatibility with various smartphone models.
A person who avoids talking to others or prefers to stay away from social gatherings may appear shy or introverted, which is why the adjectives “shy” and “introvert” are often used as if they mean the same thing. However, this link is not accurate; There is a fundamental difference between a person feeling afraid of others’ views and evaluations of him, and preferring calm and isolation because he regains his energy away from social stimuli and interactions.
Shyness is primarily related to fear of negative evaluation or anxiety about the perception of others, which makes it intersect in some of its characteristics with social anxiety. As for introversion, it refers to a person’s tendency to be easily affected by external stimuli and the need to spend some time alone to regain energy after social interaction, according to the “Very Well Mind” website.
Hence, an introverted person is not necessarily shy, just as a shy person is not necessarily an introvert. Shyness and introversion may coexist in the same person, but they express two different dimensions of personality.
Shyness versus openness and introversion versus extroversion
To understand the difference more clearly, it is helpful to look at two separate dimensions of personality: shyness versus openness, and introversion versus extroversion.
Shyness is the opposite of openness in dealing with others. Shyness is linked to the fear of negative evaluation or judgment, while an open person tends to communicate with others and take the initiative to interact with them without the fear of their evaluation being an obstacle to him.
As for introversion, it is the opposite of extroversion, and is related to the way a person responds to external stimuli and how he regains his energy. An introvert may enjoy socializing, but afterward he may need some time alone to regain his energy, while an extroverted person tends to search for stimulation and social interaction, and derives some of his energy from being with others.
An extrovert is not usually afraid of others, and tends to take the initiative to interact with them, whether at parties and social gatherings, when meeting new people, or when planning activities with friends.
An extroverted person may appear similar to an extroverted person, as he is often sociable and able to make friends easily. However, the basic characteristic of extraversion is not the absence of fear of others, but rather the need for external stimulation and spending time with others.
In other words, a person may be sociable and like to interact with others because he derives energy from them, and this is a trait linked to extroversion. On the other hand, another person may be comfortable interacting with others and does not feel afraid of them, but prefers to spend some time alone after social interaction to regain his energy, which may be consistent with introversion.
Neuroimaging studies of the brain indicate that there are different patterns of activity in some brain regions in extroverted people compared to introverted people, consistent with the difference in their response to external stimuli and stimulation.
Four possible dimensions of personality
The differences between these concepts can be simplified by looking at each attribute individually:
The shy person: He is the one who feels afraid of negative evaluation from others, and therefore he may tend to avoid some situations or social interactions.
An open person in his dealings with others: He is the one who tends to communicate and initiate interaction with them without fear of their evaluation of him.
An introverted person: one who is easily affected by external stimuli or easily irritated, and therefore needs to spend some time alone to regain his energy after social interaction.
An extroverted person: He is the one who tends to search for external stimuli, and derives part of his energy from spending time with others, while he may feel drained of energy when staying alone for a long time.
When combining these two dimensions, that is, the dimension of shyness and openness on the one hand, and the dimension of introversion and extroversion on the other hand, four general groups can be imagined, with the emphasis that human personalities are too complex to be confined to rigid classifications:
1. Extroverted extrovert
He is not afraid to interact with others, and at the same time tends to seek stimulation and spend time in social settings.
2. The shy extrovert
He may have a need for stimulation and social interaction, but at the same time he feels afraid of being evaluated or judged by others.
3. Extroverted introvert
He is not afraid to interact with others, but he is quickly affected by social stimuli, and may need some time alone to regain his energy.
4. The shy introvert
It combines the tendency to be affected by external stimuli, the need for isolation to regain energy, and the fear of negative evaluation or judgment by others.
Shyness and introversion are not synonymous
Shyness and introversion are often thought of as similar or synonymous traits, but it is important to distinguish between them. Shyness is mainly related to fear of others’ perception and evaluation, while introversion is related to the way a person responds to social and external stimuli and his need for isolation to regain his energy.
Shy people tend to worry about being negatively evaluated by others, so they may avoid some social situations. This places shyness in a context that intersects with social anxiety, although it is possible for a person to be shy without suffering from social anxiety disorder.
As for an introverted person, this does not necessarily mean that he fears others or feels uncomfortable in their presence. He may be self-confident and able to form relationships and participate in social events, but he feels drained of energy after interacting with others and needs some time alone to regain his energy.
