Crime has always fascinated writers, filmmakers and the public's imagination, as evidenced by the massive popularity of crime fiction novels and crime thrillers everywhere in the world.
Despite that fascination and the popularity of crime stories, it is still considered shocking when a filmmaker decides to make a film about non-fictional crime, one with real stories of real people.
Well-known Egyptian filmmaker Aida El-Kashef's Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for "The Day I Ate The Fish" was not excluded from the reaction of shock.
The feature documentary revolves around the stories of Egyptian women who murdered their husbands and are serving prison sentences for their crimes.
The idea to document the stories of real women who have killed their husbands intrigued El-Kashef for years until she decided to start making this documentary in 2013.
After initially raising $22,000, she was able to get permits to interview women in Al-Qanater prison and film inside it. Four women the director identified as R., N., A. and H. were chosen to be the main focuses.
In October, El-Kashef started the crowdfunding initiative to raise an additional $26,210, of which 29 percent has been successfully funded, to wrap up filming, as well as aid the editing process.
Despite the emotionally charged nature of the unusual topic, El-Kashef's goal is far from passing judgement on the perpetrators or the victims. Instead, El-Kashef wants the film to do one thing only: Raise questions about an existing reality.
"The film is not trying to sympathize, be with or against these women or judge the crimes they committed in any kind of way," El-Kashef said in her crowdfunding message.
"It is simply trying to make us face the reality that there are many women who have killed their husbands and many women who will probably kill their husbands. We, as a film crew, have questions and we want to ask them now."
According to El-Kashef, who is known for infusing philosophical themes in her work, these questions include: Does counter-violence cause more violence? When does self-defense become cruelty? What drives some women to murder? Is it a need for self-preservation or a dark inner force?
In addition, El-kashef has noted that the film aims to provide an alternative approach to the subject, one that focuses on a more human element as opposed to the sensational and judgmental elements the media tends to focus on.
El-Kashef, who stresses that the film is not just relevant to Egypt and the Arab World, ultimately hopes that the film leads to a greater understanding of this "global phenomenon" in hope of helping to shape the future of women and all citizens in the world.