Original subtitles

Downloaded from YTS.MX

Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX

[Dr. Bassem Youssef] Please use caution when trying any techniques used in this movie.

Speaking out against oppressive regimes may cause side effects

such as headaches, mood swings,

sweating, indigestion, loss of appetite,

loss of sleep, loss of home, loss of friends,

loss of constitutionally guaranteed rights,

death, and vaginal dryness.

This movie may not be appropriate for all audiences.

If you are a dictator, please leave the room now.

[thuds]

[traffic whooshing]

[vehicle honks]

Hello?

[laughing]

[laughing]

[crowd shouting]

[whistling]

[crowd chanting]

[newswoman] Protesters are back on the streets in Cairo, Egypt.

[newsman 1] Demonstrators staged one of the largest rallies in months.

[newsman 2] Thousands of demonstrators came ready for a new political revolt.

[indistinct conversations]

[horns honking]

[newsman 3] Violent clashes are raging once again in Tahrir Square.

[newsman 4] Since the revolution began last January,

-more than 1,200 people have died and over 13,000 injured. -[gunshot]

[newsman 2] President Mubarak stepped down nearly a year ago.

[newsman 4] ...since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak...

[newsman 2] Since then, the military has remained in power.

[newsman 3] Egyptians are protesting military control.

[newsman 4] "Down with military rule!"

[newsman 2] Protesters say the military isn't transitioning

to democracy as it promised.

[people chanting in Arabic]

[Bassem and cameraman speaking indistinctly]

[sirens wailing]

[gasping]

[indistinct shouting]

[Middle Eastern instrumental pop music playing]

[pop instrumental continuing]

[indistinct conversations]

[Bassem] I became a doctor to please my parents.

My brother's an engineer.

If we had a third brother who was a dentist,

we'd be almost a Jewish family.

But we're not.

[laughs]

[monitor beeping rhythmically]

My job is to cut people open...

to see what's inside.

[surgical team conversing indistinctly in Arabic]

[laughter]

[chuckles]

[Bassem] I love sarcasm.

It lets me cut through people's facades without spilling any blood.

If I could do anything,

I would have my own comedy show, be like Jon Stewart.

Make fun of New Jersey... whatever the hell that is.

I would make fun of politics, the president.

There's only one problem.

I live in Egypt.

I grew up under the rule of our benevolent

military dictator, Hosni Mubarak,

who became the president of Egypt almost 30 years ago.

That's 15 times the average lifespan of your iPhone,

or six American presidents,

or, as we call it in Egypt, "his first term."

[laughs]

[newsman] Hosni Mubarak was formally elected president.

He was the only candidate.

More than 98 percent of those who voted

marked "Yes" on their ballot.

[Bassem] The other two percent of the vote went to hummus. We love hummus.

And that was that.

We all lived happily ever after. The End.

[chorus vocalizing]

-No. Not quite. -[music stops]

[horn honks]

[newsman] Mubarak wants to close the gap between

the few very rich and the many very poor.

His slogan: "Egypt is for all."

[Bassem] By "Egypt for all," Mubarak meant

that everyone is free to say whatever they want.

And as long as you don't piss off authority, you're okay.

Life under Mubarak was like literally being under Mubarak.

[people chanting in Arabic]

[Bassem] But something was changing.

A revolution started in Tunisia.

[chanting continuing]

And we're not going to be upstaged

by those adorable little bastards.

[newsman] Winds of change are sweeping

through North Africa and the Middle East.

The Arab Spring,

protest movements taking root in countries

whose authoritarian regimes have never seen such defiance.

[Bassem] Thousands of people started taking to the streets.

I watched on TV as crowds started demanding

the removal of Hosni Mubarak.

[squelches]

[people chanting in Arabic]

[chanting continuing]

[clamoring]

[Bassem] I had never seen a protest before.

[sirens wailing]

There were injuries everywhere.

I decided to go to Tahrir Square as a doctor...

to treat people's wounds.

And I saw two different realities:

The reality that I saw in the streets...

and the other reality that I saw on television.

[people chattering]

[Bassem] The media was brainwashing the people,

inciting hate,

calling these people on the streets spies, operatives, insurgents.

[people shouting indistinctly]

[Bassem] People were being harmed just by speaking their minds.

I was angry that the media could be so irresponsible.

They should be the voice of the people,

not the voice of authority.

[crowd chanting]

I never imagined that I would see my country like this.

[Bassem] And then it happened.

[man] President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down

as president of Egypt.

[cheering]

[Bassem] We won.

I never thought I would see this day.

[scooter beeping]

It's going to be a new Egypt.

We will never have a military dictatorship again.

And finally, everyone will have a free voice.

[men arguing in Arabic]

[arguing continues]

[Bassem] Even though Mubarak left office,

the media is still total shit.

They have complete freedom of saying absolute nonsense.

They are getting away with murder,

and there's no one to stop them.

[arguing indistinctly]

[Bassem] You turned on a TV, and all you saw was people screaming and arguing.

It was a fucking zoo.

[glass shatters]

So six weeks after Mubarak left office,

my friend Tarek, he called me and said, "Let's make a show."

You opened Pandora's box!

Bassem is one of my best friends and we've been friends for so long.

And I knew he had something interesting to say.

This is where I started doing my first show ever.

We started the show in my laundry room.

One desk, one camera, and a screen with pictures behind me.

We started filming some stuff and put it on the Internet.

I thought, at best, he would give us 10,000 views on the first week.

He gave us 35,000 on the first day.

And he got us five million views in two months.

Everybody was talking about him.

[Bassem] It was unprecedented. It caught fire.

[clicks, chimes]

[Tarek] Something that's funny and at the same time

it's really about a serious matter,

this was something that was very new.

I was very excited...

that people are watching me,

but it was scary.

[indistinct conversations]

I didn't know how to deal with this.

But I liked doing it because I was taking revenge

against the lies and the manipulation of the media...

and it felt the right thing to do.

Up until then, Egyptians were never allowed

to make fun of authority or the media.

[bellowing]

Because when you laugh at authority,

it won't be easy to control us anymore.

[man] Would you tell the people, or would you just stop the show?

[audience laughing]

[applause]

[Bassem] TV stations started making offers.

So I had to make a decision:

continue my stable career as a surgeon

or break my parents' hearts and become a full-time comedian.

The choice was easy.

[music playing]

-[bell jingling] -[man calls out]

[toy jingling]

[man chuckling]

[theme music playing on computer]

[Bassem speaking indistinctly in Arabic, on computer]

[Andeel] I remember the first time I saw Bassem Youssef's show,

I saw it as something on my side.

He was encouraging people to be more critical toward authorities.

It's someone who's saying things

that are similar to what we're saying to each other.

Things that are not usually on TV,

things that are critical of the media

and the way it controls the people's minds.

He's like our guy.

[Bassem speaking indistinctly on computer]

I think one of the biggest problems that Egypt had before...

[purring]

This is not fun, so...

[purring]

[chuckles]

Anyways, it was very dangerous to have a show under Mubarak.

When they sent people to jail, like journalists or activists...

that killed hope in people, that made people forget that change could happen.

Since the revolution, everything has changed.

Will there be democracy in the future or not?

Will there be freedom of speech or not?

We've been waiting for something to happen.

The revolution is going through a very critical moment.

We still don't know who is running for president.

This is the beginning of the future.

[crunches loudly]

-[child babbles] -Mmm-hmm.

[kisses]

[chuckles]

[dance music playing]

Yay!

[audience cheering]

[Jon Stewart] Bestselling author, my guest tonight, his new book is called

"David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants."

Ah!

[Bassem] My wife kind of got screwed.

She thought she was marrying a doctor,

and she ended up with a guy who tells jokes for a living.

[laughing]

[Bassem chuckles] She's a show-off.

Yeah, just like her daddy. [laughs]

[chuckles]

[Hala] Hi, Nadia!

[Bassem] I hope that our daughter grows

into a young woman who has her own mind.

It's important to me that Nadia understands freedom of expression.

Right now, "freedom of expression" just means one thing...

pooping wherever she wants.

We'll be right back.

[audience cheering]

[man] Yeah! Hey!

The Jon Stewart of Egypt! Yeah!

What's up, man?

All right!

[Bassem mimics cheering audience]

[laughing]

Welcome to The Daily Show! My name is Jon...

Bassem Youssef.

Okay, okay, okay...

[woman laughing]

We're the same height.

-[woman] Yeah. -All right.

Is that warm enough? Because we have a fleece as well.

-Well, the thing is... -A Snuggie.

As a matter of fact, I'm actually, I'm burning hot, but I don't wanna get it off.

-Is my name in the back? -No, no...

Let me just see the back thing, you!

Have fun.

-[Jon] See you guys down there. -[Bassem] Okay.

[chuckles]

[laughs]

Look.

Wow.

[chuckles]

Ooh, popcorn.

Oh, showers...

[Jon Stewart on TV] So here's what's going on.

Hosni Mubarak was Egypt's leader for 30 years.

He was immensely popular amongst his people,

typically winning elections between 98 and 127 percent of the vote.

-[audience laughs] -He was so beloved, so popular, that last winter

his people demanded he take a well-deserved retirement.

[audience laughs]

The time of dictatorship in Egypt is done.

-[whoops] -[snaps fingers]

[laughs]

[snaps fingers]

[knock at door]

-You ready? -Yes, I'm ready.

My guest tonight, he is a heart surgeon

who also hosts a satirical news program in Egypt,

-called Al Bernameg. -Good luck, kid!

-Thank you. -[Jon] All right.

Please welcome Bassem Youssef!

[audience cheering]

[music playing]

-Hello! -Hello!

-Oh, my God! -Come and sit.

Yay!

Wow! You've got live audience.

Yes!

[cheering]

[Jon] Now, you don't have an audience.

No, we are actually trying to do that next year.

We're going to be the first Arab satirical political show

with live audience, which is huge.

It's very interesting that the medias in our countries,

that are not that-- There's sort of an establishment media,

and then there's what's going on in the street,

and the twain don't really meet.

Yes. It has been extremely funny

and hilarious to watch the media right now.

I mean, back in Egypt. It's the same, we're not very much different.

-[Jon] No. -[Bassem] Can I ask a question?

-Yeah, yeah, yes. -Last week,

did you have Catherine Zeta-Jones here?

Catherine Zeta-Jones was in your seat, sir.

-In this seat? Wow! -Your very seat.

[audience laughing]

Nice.

Yeah.

-[laughing]

Thank you, sir.

Thank you for coming in.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

I have something for you.

I've got something for you, too.

This could take a while.

Here we go.

So. This was done by the craftsmen of Egypt.

Actually, they live in the slums,

but they're trying to improve their lives.

But they didn't do the best thing ever. So, this is handmade.

-Oh, yeah, baby! -It's handmade.

[man] Awesome.

-[Bassem] It's all handmade. -Look at that. It's beautiful.

I know it doesn't look like you--

-No, this looks... -It looks exactly...

This looks exactly like me if I...

was going to brutally repress some people.

You give the best gifts. This is wonderful.

[horn honks]

[Bassem] Hello!

[applause]

My team is growing.

Since a show like this has never been done before,

they are all amateurs.

Former lawyers, architects and recent graduates.

We're part of the writers team, all three of us.

And I'm Bassem's stunt double.

[Andeel] I'm going to be creating the thing

that I was watching and enjoying and being a fan of.

Comedy and satire work really, really well

in the moments where you're not supposed to laugh.

Like the funniest joke ever is the joke that's told in a funeral.

I don't watch TV, I hate TV,

but this, this is the only show that matters.

[Tariq] The whole team is not just friends,

we're family, we're not just friends.

[laughing]

[Tariq] There is no other show like this.

My whole family is proud, and they sit and watch the show.

Well, the good thing about the program is that I can speak my mind

and talk about everything that's happening right now with this country.

[Hend] We're like the dream team.

We found each other.

Here in Egypt, you have to be very brave and willing to go to jail.

So, I think it's very brave, from Bassem. I think so.

It's very brave of him.

[Bassem] I can't wait to start our new season.

We will have a new studio,

a new live audience...

and a new president

who I can make fun of.

[Muslim call to prayer playing over loudspeakers]

[newswoman] It could be a day that begins

a brand-new era in the Middle East,

but we're really not sure what kind of era it's going to be yet

because this is election day in Egypt.

[Bassem] This is the first time that we have a real election,

and we have no idea who will win.

[cheering]

Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood

is elected president.

I don't love Morsi,

but he would provide great material.

He's like our George W. Bush.

[Bassem] I think Egypt is on a good path...

for comedy.

[audience laughs]

[audience laughing]

[laughter, applause]

[instrumental music playing]

[TV playing indistinctly in Arabic]

Cue!

[audience whistling, cheering]

[audience laughs]

[cheering]

[laughter, applause]

[laughing]

[applause]

[audience cheering and laughing]

It sounds like this new Egyptian president,

Mohamed Morsi, has got his hands full.

Egypt public prosecutors ordered

the arrest of popular television presenter Bassem Youssef.

[newswoman] The Show mocked him when he was awarded

an honorary degree in Pakistan,

and also took aim at the president's less-than-fluent English.

Making fun of the president's hats

and less-than-fluent English?

That was my entire career for eight years.

[audience cheering, laughing]

[newsman] The Egyptian government appears to be cracking down on critics.

[newsman 2] Egypt's Prosecutor General has issued

a warrant for Youssef's arrest.

[newsman 3] They're saying that he has insulted President Mohamed Morsi.

[newswoman]... insulting Islam and President Mohamed Morsi.

[newsman 4] That a comedian would be a wanted man

is itself an astonishing thing.

I don't know if they're gonna come and get me.

And I don't want to expose my wife to that.

So I called my wife and told her to stay over at her parents' house.

I'm going to turn myself in.

The people are waiting every week to see how I comment on the events.

We are the voice of the people.

I need to show them what happens when you go after a joker.

[people chanting in Arabic]

[people chanting in Arabic]

-[audience cheering] -Bassem! Bassem! Bassem! Bassem!

Bassem! Bassem! Bassem! Bassem!

[audience cheering and applauding]

[Bassem] The Show is working, and people are listening.

[newsman] Bassem Youssef is the most popular man in Egypt.

[newsman 2] Bassem Youssef is known as Egypt's Jon Stewart.

[newsman 3] Thirty million viewers for his weekly program.

[newswoman] Forty percent of the entire population is watching.

[newsman 4] Jon Stewart averages two million viewers a night.

[newsman 5] Nobody has seen anything like it anywhere in the Arab world.

[Bassem] We are showing that the government

and the media can't just decide

someone is an enemy and get rid of them.

When you go after a joker, the joke is on you.

[laughter, applause]

[applause]

[thudding]

[Bassem] The people are through with Morsi.

[Bassem] Morsi is stepping all over people right now.

The Muslim Brotherhood consider themselves

much more pure than anyone else.

[Bassem] They want everyone to be more conservative.

You can't use your religion to justify controlling people.

People are feeling alienated.

And with a president working against the will of the people,

who else can we turn to?

Sisi.

Remember that name. "Sisi."

Where was I?

The president is abusing his power.

Morsi even made a declaration that says

he's allowed to change the constitution.

[newswoman] Morsi's decision to amend the constitution

will make it impossible

for judicial courts to overturn his decisions.

[newswoman 2] Morsi's move to grant himself sweeping powers,

it's straight out of former President Hosni Mubarak's playbook.

[horns honking]

[Al Bernameg theme music playing on TV]

[TV audience applauds and cheers]

[Tarek] Watching every episode is always a conflict in my family.

They have a different political affiliation.

My family likes Morsi.

Every episode I would say,

"Oh my God, what will my father say? What will my brother do?"

I live in a family house, the same building

where my father is and my brother is.

We usually had Saturday breakfast, and I stopped doing so.

I switched my breakfast to be on a Friday morning,

before the airing of the episode.

And I did this to just avoid any eye contact on the next day.

[music playing on TV]

[Bassem singing in Arabic, to the melody of "Copacabana"]

Al Bernameg. It's not a choice.

Now, it's a lifestyle. It's, like,

this is my life, this is what I do.

[Bassem speaking in Arabic on TV]

[audience laughs, and applauds]

I feel there is something going on, and it's big.

We're expecting someone who is very important,

but we don't know who is it now.

Obviously someone very special, someone very big.

Something big will happen. We don't know yet.

I don't know. Everybody's running. I don't know.

Things are disappearing.

It's Justin Bieber. I love you, Biebs!

First, I thought it was Morsi, but from the preparations,

I think it's somebody more important.

For security reasons...

Nobody says anything.

[all laughing]

-[all cheering]

[indistinct conversations]

-Let's do this, baby! -[all cheering]

-[laughter]

I've come here to show you my respect.

The job you guys do is incredible.

What you put on every week is inspiring to me, and I love it.

[all cheering]

-Play it. -Play VTR!

[audience cheering]

[Jon] All right.

I'm just trying to practice.

-Yes. Yes. -Does that make sense?

Okay.

[laughs]

-[Jon mispronounces] -[man] "R."

[man] R-A-C-L.

Can you see?

[audience cheering]

[audience cheering, applauding]

Ladies and gentlemen, Jon Stewart!

[audience cheering loudly]

[TV playing indistinctly]

[Bassem] Does satire puts you, like, gets you into trouble?

I mean, what about the love you get from the people?

I'll tell you this. It doesn't get me into

-the kind of trouble that it gets you into. -[Bassem chuckles]

If your regime is not strong enough to handle a joke,

then you don't have a regime.

[applause]

[Jon on TV] You know, there's an expression, I don't know if you have it:

"Adding insult to injury."

Yes, maybe it is an insult, but it is not an injury.

A joke has never ridden a motorcycle into a crowd with a baton.

A joke has never shot teargas to a group of people in a park.

It's just talk.

[audience cheering]

[chanting continuing]

[Bassem] I want Morsi and his people out.

[man shouts in Arabic]

[Bassem] But are we really going to install

Democracy 2.0 so soon?

[chanting]

[cheering]

[motor revving]

[newsman] The military removed Mohamed Morsi,

suspended the constitution.

[newswoman] The country's first freely elected president, deposed.

[cheering]

-[fireworks popping] -[horns bellowing]

[newsman] There's little question the most

popular man in Egypt these days

is Field Marshall Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

His name is praised in song.

His face plastered on walls, storefronts, even candy.

Sometimes, it's next to women's underwear. Sometimes, it's on it.

[Bassem] Of course people like him. After the Muslim Brotherhood,

we could be led by Martians and people would still be happy.

[laughing]

[indistinct conversations]

[speaks indistinctly]

Many girls who used to wear hijab, they are taking it off now.

It's kind of a personal decision.

It's only for me and God.

I don't feel like doing it anymore.

So, I decided to take it off.

I work at the show because I feel that it's a good way

to express how I feel and how I want my country to be.

I don't think that there is something that we should not talk about or criticize.

Like what's happening right now with General Sisi.

He took Morsi down and everyone is acting

that he is like a god or something.

Thank you, General Sisi, but I don't want to act like you are a god.

I don't want to create another pharaoh,

like what we have done before with Mubarak.

I don't want this to be... I don't want this to happen again.

[horns honking]

[Bassem] Many of us are relieved Morsi is out.

But since he was elected democratically,

some people are saying it was a coup.

But the military and General Sisi says it wasn't a coup.

Supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood

started taking to the streets.

[chanting in Arabic]

And General Sisi sent troops in to restore order.

[gun fires]

[gas hissing]

[people clamoring]

[newswoman] Clashes between security forces and protesters

who support ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, erupting this morning.

[newsman] Sisi's forces fired on protesters

with teargas and then automatic weapons.

[man] We are fighting for principle,

-for the president we elected. -[sirens wailing]

-Never... It doesn't matter who-- -[automatic gunfire]

[man 2] Get down!

[gunshot echoes]

We heard that someone died

or that someone was shot...

somewhere just beside us.

[people talking indistinctly]

[baby crying]

You don't know what to do with them.

Someone is dying there and someone...

and we're having fun here,

and we are making fun of politics.

[man shouting in Arabic]

[gunshots]

With all the really, really sad events that are happening,

you are obligated to comment on them.

All you could say or do is just be like,

"Good morning, people. Your life is shit."

[no audio]

[newsman] No one has admitted to being behind the bombing.

[newsman 2] There's so much confusion there right now

as to who really is behind these attacks.

[newsman 3] The authorities continue to blame the Muslim Brotherhood.

[newswoman] The group has denied any involvement.

[newsman 4] Egypt is unraveling.

I have absolutely no manual to do this.

I don't know if there's gonna be an explosion

where people die anytime right now, anywhere in Egypt...

or at the office or whatever.

And we're gonna come out and talk about what happened.

How can you make fun of it? It's like 9/11 every day.

[newsman] Egypt has banned demonstrations.

[newsman 2] Security forces have locked down Tahrir Square.

[newsman 3] ...blocked every entrance to Tahrir Square.

[newsman 4] The city of Cairo is very much on a high alert basis,

as are other cities throughout Egypt.

[laughing]

[horns honking]

[man speaking indistinctly]

[indistinct conversations]

[Bassem speaking Arabic]

Don't give in to the negative energy.

[crew cheering]

[indistinct conversations]

[cheering]

This is the show that anyone would kill to get a seat in, so...

I wanna watch Bassem Youssef live. I mean, he's awesome on TV.

He gives a different side of things.

When you're looking at things negatively all the time, every day,

it's nice to look at it in a funny way.

[cooing]

[man] I didn't watch the show much.

I was just not happy about him using so much profanity.

I'm here to understand what is he,

what is he going to say, about General Sisi in particular.

[audience cheering]

[audience laughs]

[applause, cheers]

[audience cheering]

[vocalizing]

[audience laughs]

[chuckles]

It's very hard to take the negative comments

and to take the negative feedback

and to keep continuing without feeling at least...

at least frustrated for a while.

Screw them.

[laughs]

[cameraman] A more diplomatic answer.

Uh, I don't give a shit.

[laughs]

That was really diplomatic.

We are being attacked by state media,

even privately owned channel...

-Yeah. -...even the channel we are on.

[Miral] This is what's happening right now.

It's either you like the army or you love the army and Sisi,

or if you don't like Sisi, then you don't like the army.

-[woman] You're a traitor. -Yeah.

[man and continue continue shouting]

[laughter]

[conversing in Arabic]

[tank rumbling]

[glass pops, shatters]

[Bassem] There's an interim president.

But Sisi and the military are

the ones really running the show.

[newsman] Ultra nationalist fervor has swept the nation.

[Bassem] Lots of people like General Sisi.

They think that he will restore calm and safety.

[newsman] There is a large number of people who support Sisi

and they are eager to have a strong man,

a military man come back and restore some semblance of order here.

[Bassem] Having Sisi as a leader

just means going back to military control.

[newsman] Sisi and the Egyptian military launched

a massive crackdown on any form of dissent.

[newswoman] ...the crackdown on human rights organizations,

the crackdown on the media...

[Bassem] It is becoming scary to be on TV.

[newsman] Questions about just how free the media can now be in Egypt

under the new transitional government that's being formed.

[translator speaking in Arabic]

[Bassem] To Sisi, freedom of expression is nothing but an obstacle.

For the first time,

I feel that I'm being watched.

I get a call from Tarek,

and he's telling me that they arrested his dad.

And I got this phone call from my mother.

She said that, "They came and they took your father from home."

There's not a single accusation,

not a single proper accusation.

The lawyer told us that there is no case.

And he thinks that... they did that to pressure me.

I get these Facebook messages

from my "friends," or my older friends,

who tell me that I directly was responsible

for putting my father in prison.

Is it because of Al Bernameg?

It's a good target. It's an easy target.

[Bassem] Am I now a reason for people being arrested?

-Nadia! Ah! -Ah! Ah! Ah!

-Daddy! Daddy! -[chuckles]

-Aah! -Aah!

Aah... [chuckles]

-Aah! -Aah!

[laughs]

[TV playing indistinctly]

[Nadia babbling]

[Hala] I can't enjoy the show like the other people do

because each time I watch the show,

I feel really worried that... What will people think?

Will someone, like, hurt him for saying this?

-She can't be totally objective about it. -Yeah.

[Nadia babbles]

I want this to end, but at the same time, I don't want this to end

because I know he loves what he's doing,

and a lot of people are looking up to him.

[Ayman] The staff won't come here tomorrow.

-[woman] Why is that? -For their safety.

All of us, we're not coming tomorrow?

[Aysha] No, we're not.

-[Miral] Everyone? -[Aysha] No, not everyone,

but it's fine to work from home if you want to because it could be safer.

What are we going to do?

[tank rumbling]

[whimpers]

[car honking]

[talking indistinctly]

[all] ♪ Happy birthday to you

♪ Happy birthday to you

♪ Happy birthday to Tariq

♪ Happy birthday

[laughter]

-[Miral] Happy birthday. Make a wish? -[Tariq] Thank you!

[all cheering]

[woman] Let's go throw it at the protesters.

[speaking indistinctly]

So funny.

♪ Happy birthday to you!

[crowd chanting in distance]

[indistinct conversations]

[crowd chanting]

[Bassem] In the time of panic and fear,

satire is very difficult to swallow, very difficult to digest.

I don't know how will this fly.

[crowd chattering]

[indistinct chatter]

We didn't used to come frequently...

last season, okay?

But, like, we'd come now more frequently

because we're a little bit worried about him.

-I am... -[Tamar translates]

-proud of him. -[Tamar translates]

[audience cheering, whistling]

[audience laughs]

[audience cheering]

[indistinct chattering]

[indistinct chattering]

[indistinct conversation]

[crowd chattering]

[crowd chanting]

[Bassem] I had a meeting with the head of CBC and he told me

that I can keep Al Bernameg

as long as I stop making fun of authority.

And, um...

I cannot do that.

Every single TV channel,

every single show,

they are praising Sisi,

making him into a prophet, a savior, a godsend.

I will not just be another mouthpiece for the government.

This show is about holding authority accountable,

regardless of who's in charge.

I have to continue because, maybe people,

if they laugh at their differences,

they can laugh at each other instead of hating each other.

[Muslim call to prayer playing in the distance]

[Andeel] If the show got canceled for good,

that would be a very strong message

to my landlord.

-[laughs] -[cat purring]

This is Bassem Youssef.

He is about to be stepped on

by this giant, freaky creature.

It is a very famous symbol of oppression or, like, injustice.

Right before Bassem is being stepped on,

he is tickling this giant with this feather.

This is, in my opinion, what the thing is all about.

You have giants who want to crush people.

And you're just using whatever tool or whatever mean you have

to counter this effort.

Your thoughts, your ideas...

or anything.

[rope creaking]

[newsman] After three months off the air,

Bassem found another network willing to take the risk.

[newsman 2] Big test for freedom of speech here, in Egypt,

and freedom to be funny.

Freedom of speech doesn't seem to be absolute.

How long authorities will tolerate Youssef's show

depends on how far he decides to push the envelope.

[chatter, laughter]

[Bassem] Ready?

Believe in what you do. This is my message to you.

[chuckles]

[audience cheering]

[audience cheering]

[cheering, applause]

[laughing]

[laughter, applause]

[audience laughing]

[TV audience laughs, applauds]

[TV clip plays over computer]

[inhales deeply]

[newswoman] Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is already getting

the presidential treatment from the Egyptian media.

The former army chief commands more airtime

and more deference than his left-wing rival.

[Bassem] Who would want to run against the army?

Anybody who runs against the army is by default a traitor.

It's not fair.

[laughter, applause]

You know, it's just like, it gets to you, it gets to you. It's scary.

I mean, you know, some people,

for them fame makes them more narcissistic and more arrogant.

Fame... All that fame made me feel is being scared and frightened.

[newsman] It's a new reality for the country's media.

[newsman 2] Dozens of journalists, activists and students

have been detained and beaten.

[newsman 3] Journalists sentenced to years in prison for being journalists.

[newsman 4] Are we seeing essentially Mubarak 2.0,

-In the figure of El-Sisi? -[journalists clamoring]

[music playing]

[indistinct chatter]

[people chanting outside]

[audience laughing]

[static crackling]

There was no signal or anything. The TV was just black.

[laughter]

[Bassem] I am basically in the middle of a crossfire,

and people either love me to death or hate me to death. [chuckles]

I worry about being targeted with my family.

I worry about the people who are close to me.

And with angry,

confused and panicking, frightening mob,

we don't know how they will react.

Maybe it won't be worth it to actually continue.

I can't sleep.

I'm not eating.

And now my old network, CBC, is suing me.

They say I violated my contract

by making content that they couldn't air.

It's a very, very confusing time,

and I don't how we're gonna pull it off.

[laughs]

[applause]

Because of the, um...

Because of the pressure of making a show like this,

I started to understand why people

under the pressure of being a celebrity

can actually have suicidal thoughts.

But it's not like suicide, like I'd kill myself,

but sometimes you think, like...

"So since we're in a violent country right now,

"wouldn't, like, a shot from a gun kind of solve everything,

and, you know, I'll be happy?"

It's weird, right? It's a little bit dark.

But yeah...

But, you know, it's just fantasies.

It's just like a fantasy of meeting Monica Bellucci.

[crowd chanting]

[Bassem] General Sisi won by 96.9%.

It was a very, very, very, very close race.

I mean, and nobody saw it coming.

And this is democracy. And this is free elections. Yes.

[cheering]

Sisi, hero. Sisi, hero. Sisi, hero!

[Bassem] In three years' time,

we went from getting rid of a military president

to get a president who's even more loyal to the military.

Of course, a country controlled by the military is stable,

but stability should not be the goal.

It should be something to build on.

Nothing has changed.

[indistinct conversations]

[audience cheering, applauding]

[chanting]

[applause]

Is political satire now dead in Egypt?

I still believe in political satire

once it is allowed to be done.

You say Al Bernameg is dead, so I'm...

Is dead, why? Maybe it's asleep. It's asleep now.

[applause]

[indistinct conversations]

Thank you.

I'll miss you, man.

[indistinct conversation]

Cheese.

[Tarek] Remember before the revolution, we were scared to talk about politics...

[Tariq] Yeah, exactly.

...when we were taking a taxi?

Yeah.

It was really scary back then,

because...

the intelligence and the national security...

they ruined a lot of people's lives.

And that all changed in the revolution.

We hoped it would change.

No, it did change.

Not for long, I guess.

We did... No, it did change.

Uh...

No, Bassem happened.

Bassem happened for a while, and apparently--

-For a while. -For a while.

[Miral] I'm going to miss the whole environment.

It's hard.

It's hard, yeah.

I am blessed.

I am blessed to know all these great and wonderful people,

and I will miss them.

So much.

Yeah.

I don't think I could have done anything to change the outcome.

I mean... If I would go back in time,

I would have written the same jokes.

There was a comedian who created

a program similar to our own Jon Stewart.

It was a satire.

That program was taken off the air.

That's not freedom of expression.

[male translator] I hope you believe me.

We had nothing to do with that at all.

[indistinct conversation]

[Jon] For those of you who do not know who I am,

I am the Bassem Youssef of America.

-[cheering, applause] -Thank you.

[Hala] Of course I'm not happy that the show has stopped.

But I'm relieved that I don't have to worry that much about Bassem.

-Aah! -[giggles]

[squeals]

[laughing]

[Hala] I believe that stopping the show was a loss,

not for Bassem, not for me,

it was a loss for Egypt.

[laughing]

Everything is different.

[babbling]

[giggles]

[wind blowing]

[Bassem] A few hours ago, Tarek called me.

He told me that I just lost the case against CBC.

I owe them 100 million pounds.

There has never been a fine this big

in the history of Egyptian media.

I don't have the money to pay.

They could put me in jail.

[tires screeching]

I just put everything I can in two bags,

and we're heading for the airport.

I don't know if I'm going to be stopped.

We're leaving Egypt.

My daughter may not get to grow up in our country.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to go back.

I spoke with my brother.

He told me that our dad was killed in a car accident.

I want to go back,

but my brother thinks that the risk is just too high.

I can't even go back for my father's funeral.

Here's the thing.

If you are living in an atmosphere

that you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow,

everything is totally up for grabs.

There are so many people who are being put in jail

just because they are journalists.

Or they are banned from traveling

just because they tweeted something.

People will wake up, but it takes time.

The show is kind of bittersweet.

That moment of history will always remain.

This show, with all the difficulties that we went through,

was a short glimpse in time

where people can look back at it and say,

"You know what? It's possible."

[Andeel] Democracy is kind of, like, lost.

It's happening slowly, but it's going to happen.

There's no way that the giant can just crush everybody.

Unless people... let him do that.

Saturday Night Live!

[speaking indistinctly]

[indistinct conversations]

[indistinct conversations]

[indistinct conversation]

[laughing]

As most of you know, my show was banned a few months ago,

so I have no idea why you would listen

to an unemployed bum like me.

[laughter]

Satire was our weapon to dissect through the lies

and rhetoric that were used to control the people.

They used the best-known weapon known to humans.

Fear.

Fear works. Fear wins. Fear is the perfect weapon.

"Hello, yes, we don't like the jokes anymore.

-"Shut him down or you will be shut down. Ta-ta." -[audience laughs]

Sarcasm is the perfect remedy to fear.

When you laugh, you're not afraid anymore.

Those evil bastards lose.

The whole Arab Spring concept might look like it was a failure.

But maybe there is a small beacon of hope.

A revolution is not an event.

It's a process.

There is a revolution of young minds questioning everything.

All they need is a space and a path to express themselves.

Everybody can be a hero. Everybody can be a star.

Everybody can actually get their voice heard.

We have found our voice and this time we will not give it up.

It is said, that the freedom of any people

is judged by the volume of their laughter.

So my wish for you, and humanity,

is to have the loudest laugh ever.

Thank you very much.

[cheers and applause]

[rap song playing in Arabic]

[rap song] ♪ Let's find our feathers, joined together ♪

♪ They make a statement, gathered voices make a difference ♪

♪ Stacked with strategy and backed with patience ♪

♪ Despite the appetite to fight and tactics that enrages ♪

♪ Ready for a fleet of feet on top of faces ♪

♪ When the power's pushing down taking advantage, you advocate ♪

♪ Against the propagated fear and to whom we vaccinate ♪

♪ With the wounds of those who grew up and stake their time to coagulate ♪

♪ Our feathers gently tickle while our folks recalculate ♪

♪ Use your words, they are louder and more articulate than your fists ♪

♪ If giants fear your words, then their power is just a myth ♪

♪ Grab a feather, turn your coal into shiny diamonds ♪

♪ We should all in our own ways be tickling giants ♪

♪ [indistinct]... Go to compliance without silence ♪

♪ Think of assorted voices forming an alliance ♪

♪ Even when things are bad we must find a way to triumph ♪

♪ It's an age-old story of a feather versus Goliath ♪

♪ Use your words they are louder and more articulate than your fists ♪

♪ If giants fear your words, then their power is just a myth ♪

♪ Grab a feather, turn your coal into shiny diamonds ♪

♪ We should all in our own ways be tickling giants ♪

[rap song continuing in Arabic]

♪ Find yourself a punchline other than the punches ♪

♪ Share it with the haters who discriminating off the hunches ♪

♪ When? Hey! I say now! Who you talking to? ♪

♪ Hey! I'm talking to you!

♪ When you're most authentic, then others will be too ♪

♪ Big or small you got the guts to discuss ♪

♪ The poets and the jokers and then the artists ♪

♪ A sparkle in the darkness is really quite cathartic ♪

[rap song continuing in Arabic]

♪ Use your words they are louder and more articulate than your fists ♪

♪ If giants fear your words, then their power is just a myth ♪

♪ Grab a feather, turn your coal into shiny diamonds ♪

♪ We should all in our own ways be tickling giants ♪

[song ends]

[rap song playing in Arabic]