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The SAT-7 film Perhaps God Sees Me, which tells a powerful and moving story of overcoming mental health issues and finding self-worth, has won the Best Humanitarian Short Film Award at a prestigious international film festival.
The film, created as part of SAT-7’s Youth for an Enabling Society (YES) project, was awarded at the Alexandria International Film Festival for Mediterranean Countries on Saturday, October 5. Perhaps God Sees Me tells the dramatic story of a young woman whose circumstances and relationships lead her to feel worthless and contemplate suicide.
Maged Mounir, Executive Director of SAT-7 Egypt, said that “it was necessary to produce this film for youth, as recently, the suicide cases for young people have been increasing. Most of them suffer from a lack of self-confidence and a sense of worthlessness. Therefore, the film presents a message to youth, which is that each of us has an impact.”
Perhaps God Sees Me stars well-known Egyptian actress Sahar El-Saigh and is attracting widespread positive media coverage in Egypt. SAT‑7 has received requests from other broadcasters to screen the film.
Downward Spiral
“No one saw me… But I saw everyone. I loved everyone… but no one loved me. So I will leave… and perhaps God will see me.”
These are the haunting words of the main character, Dina, as she contemplates taking her own life in one of the film’s most dramatic scenes.
But Perhaps God Sees Me begins in more mysterious circumstances. Dina is sitting, waiting in an office. It becomes clear that Dina is waiting for her identity papers, and this sets the tone for the whole film, which explores the link between mental health and our sense of identity.
Dina is a woman facing an internal battle, at least partly due to her boyfriend’s influence. One early scene shows Dina receiving a string of condemning and abusive comments from him via video call. “You destroyed me,” Dina says after the call, her thoughts and emotions growing darker. “I can’t stand you. I hate my life.”
In the depths of her depression, Dina pulls out two packs of pills and prepares to take her own life. She types out a message on her phone saying she will leave this world, and that although she feels unseen and unloved by those around her, “perhaps God sees me.”
A New Life of Loving Others
It seems like all hope is lost for Dina, but at the last moment, there is a knock at the door, which becomes more and more insistent until she answers. It is a neighbor, whose mother is in desperate need of medical help.
Reluctantly, Dina drives her neighbor and the mother to a nearby hospital. She struggles to keep her suicidal feelings under wraps even while at the hospital, but when she meets a young cancer patient in the hospital garden, another opportunity arises to make a difference. She offers to draw a portrait of the young boy, who wants to see himself with a full head of hair instead of his bald scalp. He is delighted by Dina’s simple and spontaneous act of love.
After driving her neighbor back home, the two women have a moving conversation. Dina reflects on her boyfriend’s corrosive influence and shares how close she came to committing suicide. “Did you know that your mother saved me?” she asks her neighbor. “That I’m not the one who saved her?”
Inspired by events at the hospital, and support from her friends, Dina makes a fresh start with a renewed sense of her value and worth.
“We are all important, and God sees and uses us in order to help each other and the community around us,” Maged says. “You can feel your self-worth when you go out, help others, and be influential in society. This is the main message of the film.”
The YES project is implemented by SAT-7 Egypt in partnership with Norwegian Mission Society (NMS) and supported by DIGNI.
In the past, I didn’t believe in God, but recently I was baptized. My mother-in-law is not a Christian but supported me in becoming a Christian. We were both watching your channel when you invited us for a prayer. And she lifted up her hands and prayed with you. I was very surprised and impressed. You are making really good and effective programs. The Lord works in places you cannot always see."
