Abo Zaabal 89

At five years old, Bassam Mortada’s first memory of his father, Mahmoud, was shaped by a violent police raid and a visit to Egypt’s notorious Abo Zaabal prison, where his father was imprisoned as a political detainee in 1989. After enduring brutal torture, Mahmoud fled to Vienna, leaving behind his wife, Fardous, to raise Bassam alone. As childhood confusion gave way to deep resentment, Bassam struggled with the weight of his parents’ political legacy, his father’s absence, and the emotional rift that followed Mahmoud’s release and eventual return. Through cassette tapes, archival footage, and raw personal interviews, Bassam embarks on an intimate and emotionally charged journey to reconnect with his parents, confront painful truths, and understand the impact of their choices. Abo Zaabal 89 delves into the intersection of political repression and personal trauma, exploring inherited grief, fractured identity, and the long, unfinished process of healing across generations marked by silence, sacrifice and unresolved histories.