Latest news with #CairoCinemaDays
Broadcast Pro
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
Zawya Cinema to release Palestinian film ‘To A Land Unknown' on July 16
Writer-director Mahdi Fleifel's second feature follows two immigrants in Athens as they struggle by any means necessary to escape their circumstances. Zawya Cinema has announced the upcoming release of To A Land Unknown, a Palestinian film by director Mahdi Fleifel, on July 16 as part of the eighth edition of Cairo Cinema Days. The screening marks the film's arrival in Egypt after a wide theatrical rollout across the Arab world, including in Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, the UAE, Palestine and Jordan. The 2024 drama made its world premiere at the 77th Cannes International Film Festival, where it was featured in the Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) section. Since then, the film has travelled an extensive international festival circuit, screening at over 100 events and collecting more than 20 awards, with over 40 theatrical releases globally. To A Land Unknown is directed and co-written by Mahdi Fleifel, alongside writers Fyzal Boulifa and Jason McColgan. The film stars Mahmood Bakri and Aram Sabbah as Chatila and Reda, two Palestinian refugees stranded in Athens after fleeing a refugee camp in Lebanon. Desperate to reach Germany, they struggle to survive on the fringes of society, scraping together money to purchase fake passports. But their fragile plan begins to unravel when Reda, burdened by guilt and disillusionment, squanders their savings on heroin. Left with nothing, Chatila becomes entangled in a dangerous smuggling scheme as they try to escape their dead-end existence. Blending documentary realism with dramatic storytelling, Fleifel's film delivers an emotionally charged portrait of refugee life in Europe, marked by vulnerability, resistance and the desperate pursuit of hope. The arrival of Malek, a young boy whose aunt promises to send money to bring him to Italy, provides a brief glimmer of optimism for the two men, but their future remains uncertain. The film is a European co-production involving several companies and institutions, including Inside Out Films (UK), Nakba Filmworks, Salaud Morisset (France and Germany), Homemade Films (Greece) and Studio Ruba (Netherlands). Additional support came from ERT, Metafora Production and the Red Sea Production Fund in Saudi Arabia. Distribution across the Arab region is handled by Film Clinic Indie Distribution. With To A Land Unknown, Mahdi Fleifel delivers a raw, humane, and timely story about exile, brotherhood and survival, firmly establishing the film as a standout in contemporary Arab and European cinema.
CairoScene
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Saudi Film 'Saify' to Screen at Zawya Cinema in Downtown Cairo
Wael Abumansour's latest feature blends sleuthing and satire to explore the crumbling dream of quick wealth. 'Saify', a Saudi feature by journalist-turned-director Wael Abumansour, is screening at Zawya Cinema in Downtown Cairo starting May 21st, as part of the 8th edition of Cairo Cinema Days. The film explores the complexities of identity, family ties, and the enduring influence of tradition in a rapidly changing society. At the centre of it all is Saify himself, a man in his 40s desperately clinging to dreams of quick wealth with little more than stubborn optimism and a defunct cassette shop selling banned religious sermons. While 'Saify' may feel like a fictional exaggeration, the roots are deeply grounded in the filmmaker's own experience. Abumansour's stint in journalism, before his directorial debut, taught him the art of research and digging for stories. 'Saify' will be screened with English subtitles, with tickets priced at EGP 100.
CairoScene
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Zawya Cinema Screens Acclaimed Documentary ‘Abu Zaabal 89'
A standout at the Cairo Int'l Film Festival, 'Abu Zaabal 89' won three awards and became a rallying point for Egypt's indie film scene. May 07, 2025 Director Bassam Mortada's documentary 'Abu Zaabal 89' is set to screen at Zawya Cinema starting May 7th as part of Cairo Cinema Days, a special program showcasing standout Arab films that have made an impact on the international festival circuit. The film had its world premiere at the 2024 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in the Luminous section, which showcases films that 'tell human stories with a strong visual style'. A standout at the 2024 Cairo International Film Festival, 'Abu Zaabal 89' won three awards and quickly became a rallying point for Egypt's independent film scene. Its four sold-out screenings, two of which were added due to overwhelming demand, sparked a sense of collective pride among local filmmakers. The film is both an intimate memoir and a historical reckoning. Mortada, the son of Egyptian socialist activist Mahmoud Mortada, revisits the trauma of 1989, when his father was incarcerated during the Steel and Iron Company strike. Bassam, still a teenager at the time, accompanied his mother, Fardous, to visit his father in Abu Zaabal prison; a memory that became etched into their family's history. Decades later, 'Abu Zaabal 89' reconstructs this moment, not just as a personal reflection but as a wider narrative about resistance, memory, and political legacy. Through candid conversations with his parents and archival footage, Mortada weaves a multilayered story of family, repression, and resilience. The film also highlights the experiences of Bassam's friends, whose families were similarly impacted by the same case.
CairoScene
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Zawya Cinema to Screen Gaza-Filmed Docu-Series ‘From Ground Zero'
Launched by Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi, 'From Ground Zero' gives 22 filmmakers from Gaza a platform to tell their own stories of war, survival and resistance. Apr 23, 2025 As part of the 8th edition of Cairo Cinema Days, Downtown Cairo's Zawya Cinema will host the Egyptian premiere of 'From Ground Zero', a series of 22 short films produced in Gaza under siege. The screening begins on April 24th, with all films subtitled in English. The initiative was launched by veteran Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi to create space for filmmakers from Gaza to tell their own stories—first-hand perspectives that are often erased or sidelined in global coverage of the ongoing war. The project brings together fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental film to explore daily life, memory, displacement, grief, and resistance in a war-torn context. Tickets are priced at EGP 100, with the full screening schedule to be announced by Zawya Cinema in the coming days.
