The Game of Each Day
The Game of Each Day is an Egyptian film released on August 2, 1971. It was directed by Khalil Shawki, with Ahmed Lotfy writing the story and dialogue and Abdel Majid Abu Zaid and Abdel-Kader Telmissany helping with the scenario and dialogue. The cast includes Magda El-Khatib, Nabila Ebeid, Taheyya Kariokka, Ezzat El Alaili, and Abdel Moneim Ibrahim. The music features songs sung by Mohamed al-Ezaby, with melodies by Mohamed El-Mougy and Ali Ismael.
The story follows Shabara al-Afi, a young itinerant worker who doesn’t know his family or origins. He travels from one job to another, living wherever he can and working at a taxi garage in Desouk. He dreams of earning enough money to marry his love, Anshirah, but faces jealousy and schemes from Ibrahim, a powerful man who tries to keep them apart and cheats Shabara out of pay. The neighborhood is filled with people trying to survive, including Anshirah’s mother, who sells koshary, and Fakina, who loves Ibrahim’s foreman Aino.
As the film unfolds, Shabara navigates a crowded world of market workers and neighbors, with several side stories about love, power, and hardship. A dramatic moment comes when repo men threaten Anshirah’s mother’s farm. To hide his trouble, Shabara ferries a koshary cart away and hides it among tall crops, earning Anshirah’s love in the process. He is later arrested and jailed, but Anshirah stays by him, showing loyalty amid ongoing struggle.
The movie is widely seen as part of a wave of post-revolution Egyptian films about low-paid laborers with little future, a realist portrayal echoed in works like Cairo Station and The Rain Has Gone Dry. The characters’ traumas, rather than moments of escape, stay at the center of the story. Some critics question why this powerful film isn’t ranked higher in Egyptian cinema.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 07:38 (CET).