»When I began filming Forbidden, we still lived in a dictatorship in which almost all political rights and activities were banned. The police and the repressive state security apparatus controlled the entire country. The word ›Forbidden‹ was everywhere. Nevertheless there was quite a strong social and political movement, and this was precisely what I wanted to show in my film. Despite all the bans we are capable, in our own way, of breaking through barriers. For this reason I decided not to try and obtain permission for filming from the film censorship board, and in the documentation I declared this decision a rebellious act. What I didn’t know at the time was the fact that the revolution was going to set the final scene of my work, since it started on the very day that shooting was concluded. Because of this the statement and the direction of the film was radically altered. In the end it was possible to screen the film in Cairo without problem. At the same time it functions as a historical reminder of the last days before the Revolution, something I had not planned in this way.«
– Amal Ramsis