Italian multi-hyphenate Ilaria Borrelli’s Arabic-language feminist drama “The Goat” – featuring Mira Sorvino and John Savage, alongside a stellar Egyptian cast – is set for back-to-back launches at Egypt’s upcoming El Gouna Film Festival, followed by the closing film slot at the Rome Film Festival.
A rare, if not unique, case of an Arab production directed by an Italian, “The Goat” stars young Egyptian TikTok star Jessica Hosam as an 11-year-old pregnant orphan named Hadya who after being forced into marriage becomes the target of a western corporation that seeks to control the only water source in her village. She escapes into the desert with her goat on a journey in search of her father. See trailer above
“She takes the road to freedom alone with her goat whose milk she will use to survive. Sometimes when she drinks the milk she feels her mum is talking to her,” according...
A rare, if not unique, case of an Arab production directed by an Italian, “The Goat” stars young Egyptian TikTok star Jessica Hosam as an 11-year-old pregnant orphan named Hadya who after being forced into marriage becomes the target of a western corporation that seeks to control the only water source in her village. She escapes into the desert with her goat on a journey in search of her father. See trailer above
“She takes the road to freedom alone with her goat whose milk she will use to survive. Sometimes when she drinks the milk she feels her mum is talking to her,” according...
- 9/22/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Beirut-based production powerhouse Cedars Art Productions is having one of its best Ramadan runs ever with eight new series that are all currently scoring stellar ratings during the region’s peak TV season across the Arab world.
The prominent Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region film and TV company – which also has offices in Cairo, Casablanca, and Dubai – is heading to the Cannes MipTV market with a slew of shows, many of which push boundaries in an effort to appeal to a younger generation of Arab viewers.
Case in point is timely drama “Soul Rising” featuring Egyptian star Menna Shalabi as a young woman named Rouh who, in search of her son, winds up captive at an Isis camp for female fugitives amid fierce fighting in Syria. This series has been submitted for International Emmy consideration, said Cedars’ president Sadek Anwar Sabbah.
Speaking exclusively to Variety, Sabbah pointed out...
The prominent Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region film and TV company – which also has offices in Cairo, Casablanca, and Dubai – is heading to the Cannes MipTV market with a slew of shows, many of which push boundaries in an effort to appeal to a younger generation of Arab viewers.
Case in point is timely drama “Soul Rising” featuring Egyptian star Menna Shalabi as a young woman named Rouh who, in search of her son, winds up captive at an Isis camp for female fugitives amid fierce fighting in Syria. This series has been submitted for International Emmy consideration, said Cedars’ president Sadek Anwar Sabbah.
Speaking exclusively to Variety, Sabbah pointed out...
- 4/14/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Dubai-based CEO Sam Barnett leads the Middle East’s largest broadcaster Mbc as it turbocharges its Shahid streaming service through a scripted content drive, and gives Netflix a run for its money.
Shortly before the holy month of Ramadan, which is marathon TV time in the Arab world, Barnett spoke to Variety about the still crucial relevance of Ramadan season in luring eyeballs, Mbc’s need to offer “interesting new types of content” outside of the holy period, and why the company remains resolutely pan-Arab while riding the wave of Saudi’s production boom.
There is a perception that Mbc is becoming more “Saudi-centric” since it now plays an important role in Saudi’s drive to become a major content producer. Can you talk to me about how this shift is playing out in your overall production strategy?
Mbc has always played a major role in the media in the Kingdom,...
Shortly before the holy month of Ramadan, which is marathon TV time in the Arab world, Barnett spoke to Variety about the still crucial relevance of Ramadan season in luring eyeballs, Mbc’s need to offer “interesting new types of content” outside of the holy period, and why the company remains resolutely pan-Arab while riding the wave of Saudi’s production boom.
There is a perception that Mbc is becoming more “Saudi-centric” since it now plays an important role in Saudi’s drive to become a major content producer. Can you talk to me about how this shift is playing out in your overall production strategy?
Mbc has always played a major role in the media in the Kingdom,...
- 3/13/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
"I'm not part of that plan anymore!" ITN Movies has released a new US trailer for an action movie titled Desert Strike, made by Egyptian filmmaker Raouf Abd El Aziz and first released in Egypt last year under the original title Pharaoh's War. This looks like absolute trash, and I guess that's the point - it seems like they just wanted to make a big, dumb Egyptian action film. An ex-military man with a mysterious past leads a group of Egyptian refugees through the desert and must protect them from a group of evil mercenaries. Desert Strike stars Mike Tyson and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, both of whom are laughably bad in this, and also features Mahmood Abdulmughni, Rubi, Amr Saad, and Ahmed Fahmy. This looks So bad it's hard to even finish watching the trailer but luckily it's free to watch and will likely give you a good laugh. Here's...
- 12/17/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Fledgling company to invest $8-9m in 10 Arab-language productions a year.
Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawaris’s fledgling film and high-end TV production company iProductions is at the Efm for the first time this year with its debut feature Mawlana [pictured].
The company has also revealed plans to invest around $8m in Arab films.
Amgad Sabry, iProductions CEO, is in Berlin for meetings with festival programmers and potential buyers for the film about a populist Muslim TV preacher plagued with doubts.
“We believe that content can shape the mind of the people. Our aim is to produce films touching on contemporary topics and burning, sometimes controversial issues,” Sabry told Screen.
Based on a novel by Egyptian journalist Ibrahim Issa, it follows Muslim TV preacher Hatem Al Shenawy who is having doubts about the message he is conveying to the millions of spectators who tune into his daily show.
In the backdrop, he is also...
Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawaris’s fledgling film and high-end TV production company iProductions is at the Efm for the first time this year with its debut feature Mawlana [pictured].
The company has also revealed plans to invest around $8m in Arab films.
Amgad Sabry, iProductions CEO, is in Berlin for meetings with festival programmers and potential buyers for the film about a populist Muslim TV preacher plagued with doubts.
“We believe that content can shape the mind of the people. Our aim is to produce films touching on contemporary topics and burning, sometimes controversial issues,” Sabry told Screen.
Based on a novel by Egyptian journalist Ibrahim Issa, it follows Muslim TV preacher Hatem Al Shenawy who is having doubts about the message he is conveying to the millions of spectators who tune into his daily show.
In the backdrop, he is also...
- 2/15/2016
- ScreenDaily
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