City of Sounds

Regie: Janek Romero – Documentary, 82 min, Color, Egypt, Germany, 2014

The sound of Cairo – hardly anyone knows it as well as musician Roman Bunka. He is not only an outstanding guitarist, but also a virtuoso on the oud, the Arabic lute. His decades of involvement with Arabic music have made Bunka a mediator between Orient and Occident. His musical experience reaches far back into the 1970s, when the Munich-based musician was one of the founding members of influential German Krautrock band Embryo and jazz rock bands like Aera.

In the feature documentary CITY OF SOUNDS Bunka goes on a journey through the colorful musical scene of the Egyptian capital. He meets promising young talents as well as established musical celebrities such as Grammy Award winner Fathy Salama or Egyptian megastar Mohamed Mounir, whom Bunka has accompanied on tour several times.

Bunka’s search for ‚the sound of Cairo‘ challenges Western stereotypes of Islam and also creates a sensual portrait of a city in the ongoing process of the Egyptian Revolution.