THE TALE OF
DAYE’S FAMILY
FILM | EGYPT | 2024
The film’s design poetically captures Egypt’s diverse landscapes and architecture, blending realism with a dreamlike vision. Along D’s journey, villages appear almost magical, framing his story as a fairytale of a young hero, radiant as the sun.
Director — Karim Alshenawy
Producer — Karim Alshenawy; Haytham Dabour; Ahmed Youssef
Cinematographer — Abdelsalam Mousa
Production Designers — Ali Hossam Ali; Lamis Souliman
Visualizing The Tale of Daye’s family
The film is established with shots of the Nile river in southern Egypt, Nubia, with enchanting sailboats sailing, reflecting the film's identity as a fairy tale full of magic, or like biographies and popular epics that are more concerned with the aesthetics and poetry of the world than its reality.
From the first scene, the contrast that defines Daye’s alienation and sets audience expectations becomes evident. He is a Nubian boy who is albino and lives in a dark-skinned community. Accordingly, the film’s set design and color palette are crafted to highlight this contrast—visually and conceptually. The set design in Daye reflects the world through Daye's eyes. It portrays a natural world filled with poetry and sunlight— a world that, despite its enchanting beauty, remains a constant threat to the Nubian Albino boy.
Color
Scheme
The film's palette starts with natural, neutral tones, capturing Nubian charm—soft sunlight, long shadows, and earthy hues.
As the journey unfolds, the colors intensify, becoming brighter and more vivid, creating striking contrasts. Luxor, symbolizing the sun's yolk, introduces fiery hues, with the palette gradually warming, shifting towards deep earthy yellows.
This progression culminates in the deep blues of the indigo journey. However, upon reaching Cairo, the vibrant contrasts abruptly fade, giving way to shades of cement grey.
Color
Palette
The color palette of ‘Daye' is inspired by the authentic hues of Nubia—earthy yet vibrant. These colors are arranged within a magical-realistic spectrum, gradually evolving alongside the story’s events and the rising sun.
Each location is portrayed through its unique, fleeting magic, using the interplay of light and shadow to enhance its essence and narrative depth.
DAYE’S
DESIGN BOOK
The film’s locations across Egypt—from Nubia to Luxor and Cairo—were executed in existing sites turning them into film sets. Our design approach highlighted each city’s unique environment and architecture, adding a touch of magic to complement the film’s poetic narrative. Every set was carefully crafted to visually and expressively reflect its inhabitants.
Production Designer — Ali Hossam Ali l Co. Production Designer — Lamis Souliman
Art Director — Walid Fouad
Prop Master — Mahmoud Hamed Paolo
Execution
Process
Due to the distance from workshops and warehouses in Cairo, the executive team sourced natural materials from the local environment when filming in Aswan and Luxor. This approach added authenticity and a natural feel to the crafting and construction process.
