After stumbling upon a story through a link on Facebook about a team of blind footballers from Egypt who arrived in Warsaw and disappeared into thin air after it turned out they could actually see, writer-director
“They literally disappeared into thin air and it turned out they could all see,” Hilal said during a conversation about the movie at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International. “I was laughing and everyone in Egypt was laughing.”
Hilal decided to use the premise of this true-life event for his directorial debut Voy! Voy! Voy!, which has not only topped the Egyptian box office since its September release in Cairo, but is also Egypt’s official submission into the Best International Feature Oscar category for 2024.
“It was such a perfect vessel to tell this story about illegal immigration, which is a huge problem, the whole social issue of poverty and the lack of opportunity, which...
“They literally disappeared into thin air and it turned out they could all see,” Hilal said during a conversation about the movie at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International. “I was laughing and everyone in Egypt was laughing.”
Hilal decided to use the premise of this true-life event for his directorial debut Voy! Voy! Voy!, which has not only topped the Egyptian box office since its September release in Cairo, but is also Egypt’s official submission into the Best International Feature Oscar category for 2024.
“It was such a perfect vessel to tell this story about illegal immigration, which is a huge problem, the whole social issue of poverty and the lack of opportunity, which...
- 12/9/2023
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Riyadh-based exhibitor is aiming to back 24 Arabic language films a year by 2025
Leading Saudi exhibitor Muvi Cinemas is ramping up its production activities and will start shooting on its next Saudi film El Senor by Aymen Khoja on December 9.
Starring Yasir Alsaggaf and Bayoumi Fouad, the comedy is one of 10 films backed by Muvi’s production arm Muvi Studios that the exhibitor will release over the next 12 months.
Among them is Red Sea competition film Mandoob, co-production with Telfaz 11 that releases on December 14. Egyptian comedy Esabat Azeema, a co-production with Al Arabia Cinema that stars Esaad Younes, will release...
Leading Saudi exhibitor Muvi Cinemas is ramping up its production activities and will start shooting on its next Saudi film El Senor by Aymen Khoja on December 9.
Starring Yasir Alsaggaf and Bayoumi Fouad, the comedy is one of 10 films backed by Muvi’s production arm Muvi Studios that the exhibitor will release over the next 12 months.
Among them is Red Sea competition film Mandoob, co-production with Telfaz 11 that releases on December 14. Egyptian comedy Esabat Azeema, a co-production with Al Arabia Cinema that stars Esaad Younes, will release...
- 12/4/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Egypt’s Oscar submission “Voy! Voy! Voy!,” from director-writer-producer Omar Hilal, is a blackly comic look at migration viewed through the lens of a conman pretending to be visually impaired in order to play in the Blind Football World Cup. The fast-paced, entertaining film makes its Moroccan debut in the Special Screenings section of the Marrakech Film Festival. Following its September premiere in Egypt, it held the top box-office spot for two months and did remarkably well in the Gulf states.
The title translates as “Here I Come” in Spanish and is what the blind football players call out on the field to avoid collisions. But “Here I Come” could equally be the motto of its cheerily amoral protagonist Hassan (Mohamed Farrag), who is willing to try anything to escape his financially-challenged, dead-end life as a security guard.
Multi-hyphenate Hilal always wanted to make a film about migration. When he...
The title translates as “Here I Come” in Spanish and is what the blind football players call out on the field to avoid collisions. But “Here I Come” could equally be the motto of its cheerily amoral protagonist Hassan (Mohamed Farrag), who is willing to try anything to escape his financially-challenged, dead-end life as a security guard.
Multi-hyphenate Hilal always wanted to make a film about migration. When he...
- 12/2/2023
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
From its jaunty animated credits to its absurdly satisfying conclusion, “Voy! Voy! Voy!” is a saucy and blackly comic look at immigration. An entertaining first feature inspired by stranger-than-fiction actual events from seasoned adman Omar Hilal, here serving as director, writer and producer, Egypt’s official Oscar submission nabbed the top spot at the local box office for two months following its mid-September domestic release and also played well in the Gulf states. Boasting a smart screenplay with serious undertones and a powerhouse cast with impeccable timing, it’s an audience-friendly affair that could score some distribution in the west.
The action is set in 2013, a time of political turmoil in Egypt, although that is not overly stressed. Cheerfully amoral chief protagonist Hassan (Mohamed Farrag) is willing to try almost anything to escape his financially challenged, dead-end life as a security guard and head to Europe. When his opportunity to...
The action is set in 2013, a time of political turmoil in Egypt, although that is not overly stressed. Cheerfully amoral chief protagonist Hassan (Mohamed Farrag) is willing to try almost anything to escape his financially challenged, dead-end life as a security guard and head to Europe. When his opportunity to...
- 12/1/2023
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Egypt has selected Omar Hilal’s comedy Voy! Voy! Voy! as its candidate for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Oscars.
Producers Vox Studios, Film Clinic and Image Nation Abu Dhabi announced the selection at the film’s glitzy UAE premiere ahead of its theatrical release across the Gulf on September 21.
Inspired by true events, Voy! Voy! Voy! tells the story of Hassan, a security guard living an impoverished life with his mother who dreams of traveling and living abroad.
One day, he stumbles on the sport of blind football and cunningly decides to pose as a visually impaired man to join a team close to playing a World Cup tournament in Europe. On this journey, he crosses paths with several characters including a rising female journalist following the team and a middle aged coach.
The ensemble cast is led by Mohamed Farrag and also features Bayoumi Fouad, Taha Desouki,...
Producers Vox Studios, Film Clinic and Image Nation Abu Dhabi announced the selection at the film’s glitzy UAE premiere ahead of its theatrical release across the Gulf on September 21.
Inspired by true events, Voy! Voy! Voy! tells the story of Hassan, a security guard living an impoverished life with his mother who dreams of traveling and living abroad.
One day, he stumbles on the sport of blind football and cunningly decides to pose as a visually impaired man to join a team close to playing a World Cup tournament in Europe. On this journey, he crosses paths with several characters including a rising female journalist following the team and a middle aged coach.
The ensemble cast is led by Mohamed Farrag and also features Bayoumi Fouad, Taha Desouki,...
- 9/20/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/20/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/20/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Top Middle East exhibitor Vox Cinemas, which is also active in distribution and production, is ramping up its investment in producing Arabic feature films and unveiling its first full-fledged slate of local original movies at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival.
Vox’s Arabic line-up caters to local market demands by providing commercially viable works in a range of different genres, directed both by Arab newcomers and known names and starring top talents such as Egyptian star Nelly Karim (pictured) who is on the Red Sea fest’s main jury.
Karim is co-starring with popular actors Mohamed Farrag and Bayoumi Fouad (“A Stand Worthy of Men”) in the ensemble dramedy “Voy! Voy! Voy!” that is being launched and teased at the fest today with a press conference and sneak peak footage.
“Voy! Voy! Voy!” marks the directorial debut of hotshot Egyptian commercials director Omar Hilal. Vox is producing the...
Vox’s Arabic line-up caters to local market demands by providing commercially viable works in a range of different genres, directed both by Arab newcomers and known names and starring top talents such as Egyptian star Nelly Karim (pictured) who is on the Red Sea fest’s main jury.
Karim is co-starring with popular actors Mohamed Farrag and Bayoumi Fouad (“A Stand Worthy of Men”) in the ensemble dramedy “Voy! Voy! Voy!” that is being launched and teased at the fest today with a press conference and sneak peak footage.
“Voy! Voy! Voy!” marks the directorial debut of hotshot Egyptian commercials director Omar Hilal. Vox is producing the...
- 12/2/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Burgeoning Saudi Arabian content company Arabia Pictures Group is joining forces with Greece-based audiovisual group Tanweer on a strategic partnership that will see them cooperate on production and distribution across all formats in the Middle East and North Africa.
They have kicked off the partnership with the development and production of a slate of three features to be shot in the Mena region and directed by emerging talents.
The first title on the slate is romantic comedy #Gawwezni starring U.K.-Egyptian star Amir El-Masry, which has recently wrapped filming. El-Masry, whose credits include Limbo and Industry and is soon to be seen in Netflix’s The Crown and Jessica Hausner’s Club Zero, plays a man who falls madly in love but when a spell is cast on him cannot act on his feelings, leading to a series of comic situation.
The cast also features Egyptian actress Mayan El Sayed...
They have kicked off the partnership with the development and production of a slate of three features to be shot in the Mena region and directed by emerging talents.
The first title on the slate is romantic comedy #Gawwezni starring U.K.-Egyptian star Amir El-Masry, which has recently wrapped filming. El-Masry, whose credits include Limbo and Industry and is soon to be seen in Netflix’s The Crown and Jessica Hausner’s Club Zero, plays a man who falls madly in love but when a spell is cast on him cannot act on his feelings, leading to a series of comic situation.
The cast also features Egyptian actress Mayan El Sayed...
- 9/2/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
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