Knowing that conflict was brewing once again in Egypt, filmmaker Karin Muller took a huge risk—setting out to film a documentary on Egyptian life in the midst of a revolution. For three months, Muller tripped alone from the upper Nile to the Red Sea, sharing the day-to-day lives of ordinary Egyptians and capturing it all on film. Through the eyes of fishermen and bakers, street dancers and Cairo’s kamikaze taxi drivers, Muller discovered a side of Egypt that few foreigners get to see. Along the way she was invited to participate in Muslim festivals, visit weekly animal markets and discuss politics with university students and local mullahs. Landing herself right in the middle of the revolution in Tahir Square, Muller was able to piece together the real story behind Egypt’s quest for democracy.

Muller survived the military coup, only to be attacked by a mob in a remote village in the Nile delta. Seriously injured, she was medically evacuated back to the United States for emergency surgery. Egypt: The Gathering Storm reveals the many faces of this complicated country, where the second fateful revolution that brought all Egyptians together was also responsible for tearing the nation apart.