This documentary, an attempt to investigate child labor in Egypt, shows children as young as seven and eight working in carpet factories, crafts workshops, printing plants, and in agriculture, tilling the fields for long hours. They are deprived of schooling, and of playtime. In Egypt, there are about two million working children, about 11 percent of the workforce.

The film had to be made under the watchful eyes of government censors. As a result, the children look scrubbed, cheerful, and well dressed. Several spokesmen for organizations which employ the children point to the benefits of giving children a trade so that they can contribute to their families and ultimately have a career. The filmmakers also visit a well-run facility where children can come on Sundays, their only day free, to play and acquire some literacy.

Up at Dawn brings up cultural differences that become apparent when the industrialized West tries to impose values on a developing country like Egypt, which has difficulty admitting its own social problems to an international audience.

"This timely title is suggested for both school and public library collections."
‒Booklist

International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam, 2000
Amnesty International Festival, 2001