New Awards for 'Thank You for Banking With Us' at Cannes Festival
Shahinaz Al-Akkad, who co-produced and distributed the film, expressed her gladness with the two new awards on the sidelines of Cannes Festival. Recently, the film won multiple awards from festivals across the world. It has also received acclaim since its recent screenings in numerous countries; Egypt, KSA, and the UAE, in addition to its participation in many festivals.
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Al-Ahram Weekly
24-06-2025
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Palestinian film Thank You for Banking With Us scoops awards at Casablanca Festival - Screens - Arts & Culture
Palestinian film Thank You for Banking With Us won the Grand Prize and Best Actress award at the sixth edition of the Casablanca Arab Film Festival (13-20 June). Thank You for Banking With Us, written and directed by Laila Abbas, won the Grand Prize in the Feature Film Competition. The film follows Mariam and Noura, who discover that their father left a huge sum of money behind after his death. They come up with an elaborate scheme to abscond with the money before their brother, who is legally entitled to half the inheritance, finds out about their father's death. Clara Khoury, an American actress of Palestinian origin, who portrays Maryam in the film, won the Best Actress award. The film also stars Yasmine Al-Massri, Kamel El-Basha, and Ashraf Barhoum. Among numerous recognitions, Khoury attracted particular attention for her role in the comedy-drama In Jerusalem, Love Has Many Roadblocks (Al-Quds fee Yom Akhar, 2002), directed by Hany Abu-Assad. The film, also screened under Rana's Wedding, was nominated for the Critics' Week Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2002. The awards scored in Casablanca add to the many other recognitions that Thank You for Banking With Us garnered over the past months. The film won the Silver Alexander for Best Director at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, the Golden Star at the El Gouna Film Festival, and the Bader Best Feature Film Award at the Ajyal Film Festival. It also won the Best Feature Fiction award at Beirut International Women Film Festival and the Best Screenplay award at Malmö Arab Film Festival, among others. This was not the only Palestinian win at the festival's sixth edition. Maha Haj's short film Upshot won Best Screenplay at the Short Film Competition. The film follows a couple who are withdrawing from the world and carefully constructing a fantasy life. An uninvited guest jeopardizes their reality, bringing forth a devastating revelation from their past. The film stars Mohammad Bakri, Amer Hlehel, and Areen Omari. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Egypt Today
25-05-2025
- Egypt Today
A global focus on the Egyptian Media Hub at Cannes Film Festival
The designated space for the Egyptian Media Hub at the 78th Cannes Film Festival witnessed a state of vigor and vitality. It has become a meeting point for Egyptian content creators with their peers from across the globe, in addition to a number of diplomats concerned with getting a closer look at the Egyptian film industry. Among the most prominent visitors was Indonesian Minister of Culture, Fadli Zon, who tackled collaboration opportunities between Egypt and Indonesia. There were also a number of chairmans of international and Arab film festivals. The platform has received considerable attention from global media. Screen Daily and Variety have published extensive reports on the leading role of the platform. It represents a new initiative aiming at supporting a promising generation of Egyptian filmmakers and promoting Egypt's presence in the global market, through the provision of production, filming, editing, and visual effects services. Furthermore, Associated Press noted that the Egyptian Media Hub is regarded as the first platform designated to present Egyptian cinema, tell local stories, and shed light on Egyptian culture. This initiative is led by Shahinaz El-Akkad, with the support of pioneering figures, with the aim of connecting Egyptian talents with global audiences. The mission of the platform is multifaceted; promoting international presence of Egyptian cinema, supporting the industry's growth on the global level, celebrating the industry's history and future, creating bridges of communication between veteran filmmakers and the new generation, fostering ties with global entertainment hubs, and presenting Egyptian and Arab culture in global forums, like the Cannes Film Festival. In this regard, the platform's founder, Shahinaz El-Akkad, stated, "I've attempted to unite a number of entities under a single umbrella to promote the global reach of Egyptian content beyond conventional limits, promote stories that reflect Egyptian community in its diversified dimensions, and shed light on the artistic and production potentials that Egypt offers worldwide". El-Akkad added, "Egyptian content is highly demanded in the region. Indeed, we aspire to expand further into Asian, African, and European markets in order to reach innovative openness and deep cultural collaboration. There are rich experiences and stories that haven't been released yet in a fascinating way on screens. Our objective is conveying culture and stories to a global audience, as well as highlighting Egypt as a promising cinematic destination on the global production map". Moreover, El-Akkad stressed that the Egyptian film industry, as the oldest in the region, deserves a platform which celebrates the creativity of its people to reach a global level. El-Akkad added, "Following our success in MIPCOM, as we represented over eight companies and received considerable attention, we are keen on continuing this journey in one of the most prominent film markets in the world in order to shed light on our beautiful culture and present it to a massive global audience". This year, the platform takes part in the Cannes Film Festival; the world's most prominent film festival, through a unique pavilion held under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. 13 cinematic and entertainment entities from the public and private sectors, including production, distribution, writing, editing, and visual effects fields, took part in the event. Among the most prominent figures that participated in the event were: Shahinaz El-Akkad, Mohamed Hefzy, Ahmed Badawy, Aly El-Araby, Mohamed Abdul Wahab, Mariam Naoum, Hisham Fathy, Alaa Lashin, Adli Toma, Cédric Aoun, Marwa Abu Leila, and Nadine Abdel Ghaffar. It is noteworthy that this year's Cannes Festival market hosted over 15000 film professionals and included over 4000 films and projects from 140 countries across the world. This highlights the importance of the notable Egyptian presence as a new step towards further global interaction and shared creativity.
Identity
18-05-2025
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New Awards for 'Thank You for Banking With Us' at Cannes Festival
'Thank You for Banking With Us', directed by Laila Abbas, has received new awards. The film won two awards at the Critics Awards for Arab Films on the sidelines of the Cannes International Film Festival; the Best Film and the Best Director for Laila Abbas. Producers Shahinaz Al-Akkad and Hanna Atallah received the awards. The awards were granted by a jury of 281 film critics from across the world. Shahinaz Al-Akkad, who co-produced and distributed the film, expressed her gladness with the two new awards on the sidelines of Cannes Festival. Recently, the film won multiple awards from festivals across the world. It has also received acclaim since its recent screenings in numerous countries; Egypt, KSA, and the UAE, in addition to its participation in many festivals.
