ISLAMABAD: The German embassy, in conjunction with the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) held a screening on Thursday of the documentary film `Free dom Bus` The Arabic-language film is about Anwar El Sharkawy, a German-Egyptian man who returned to Egypt in 2011 after former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted, and began a campaign to educate Egyptians about democracy and politics. Sharkawy, accompanied by volunteers, travelled around the country in the `Freedom Bus`, putting up stalls in the streets to discuss politics with other Egyptians and raise awareness about democracy and the importance of voting.

The film touches on the culture of `pharoanic rule` in Egypt, and the need to understand the tenets of freedom and democracy in order to empower citizens. By the end of the campaign, Sharkawy claimed in the film that the `Freedom Bus` had reached 150,000 people by initiating discussions on politics and democracy in public spaces.

The film also did not shy away from discussing the various aspects of politics in Egypt, specifically the relationship between liberals,secularism and religion. It also foreshadowed the aftermath of the Arab Spring protests and the 2011-2012 Egyptian parliamentary elections. The film showed that the Freedom Bus campaign ended around the same time as the elections, due to pressure from the previous regime.

The film itself is little known, and was directed by German filmmaker Fatima Abdollahyan. Abdollahyan previously worked in the media industry in France, Germany and Iran, and also directed `Kick in Iran`, a film which followed Sara Khoshjamal Fekri, the first woman from Iran to compete in the Olympic Games, in 2008.

Speaking before the screening began, thehead of the economic section of the embassy Kai Müller-Berner said that while he initially thought the film seemed `naive`, it also hinted at the reality of the situation in Egypt. He called the film `inspiring`, and drew attention to a portion of the film where Sharkawy says that `Christians, Muslims and atheists` can all agree and work towards the same goal.

He likened the moment to Mohammad Ali Jinnah`s August 11 speech when he said: `You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan.` He said that freedom and human rights are enshrined in the Charter of the UN, and that these words still matter today.