Prominent Egyptian director Marwan Hamed, whose epic “Kira and El Gen” about local resistance to British occupation recently scored at the local box office, is being feted with a career award by the El Gouna Film Festival.
The Egyptian fest, running Oct. 13-20 in the Red Sea resort roughly 250 miles south of Cairo, is also paying tribute to the Sudanese Film Group, a groundbreaking collective of filmmakers, and is planning an homage to late great British-French icon Jane Birkin.
Hamed (pictured above) broke out internationally in 2006 with his bold adaptation of Alaa Aswany’s bestselling novel “The Yacoubian Building” that became a game-changer in Egytian cinema due to the way it depicted homosexuality, Islamic fundamentalism and government corruption. After “Yacoubian” become a local hit and travelled widely Hamed scored again big time with “The Blue Elephant,” a thriller with supernatural elements and its sequel “The Blue Elephant 2” that more...
The Egyptian fest, running Oct. 13-20 in the Red Sea resort roughly 250 miles south of Cairo, is also paying tribute to the Sudanese Film Group, a groundbreaking collective of filmmakers, and is planning an homage to late great British-French icon Jane Birkin.
Hamed (pictured above) broke out internationally in 2006 with his bold adaptation of Alaa Aswany’s bestselling novel “The Yacoubian Building” that became a game-changer in Egytian cinema due to the way it depicted homosexuality, Islamic fundamentalism and government corruption. After “Yacoubian” become a local hit and travelled widely Hamed scored again big time with “The Blue Elephant,” a thriller with supernatural elements and its sequel “The Blue Elephant 2” that more...
- 10/6/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Three years after the first movie theater reopened in Saudi Arabia – following removal of a religion-related ban – the kingdom has become the top theatrical market in the Middle East and is turning into a major driver for Arabic film production.
“At the moment Saudi is on a different path from the rest of the world,” says David Hancock, an analyst at London-based Omdia, which sees this new market as having the potential to be ranked among the top 10-15 territories for box office worldwide by 2024.
By 2024 Omdia estimates there will be 1,400 screens in Saudi Arabia, up from a current count of less than 300 screens in 2020 with more than 600 screens expected in 2021. In 2020 Saudi box office was up 3% to $115 million, bucking the downward trend in the rest of the world.
But besides growing box office and screen count, just like in other parts of the world such as China where there is moviegoing growth,...
“At the moment Saudi is on a different path from the rest of the world,” says David Hancock, an analyst at London-based Omdia, which sees this new market as having the potential to be ranked among the top 10-15 territories for box office worldwide by 2024.
By 2024 Omdia estimates there will be 1,400 screens in Saudi Arabia, up from a current count of less than 300 screens in 2020 with more than 600 screens expected in 2021. In 2020 Saudi box office was up 3% to $115 million, bucking the downward trend in the rest of the world.
But besides growing box office and screen count, just like in other parts of the world such as China where there is moviegoing growth,...
- 3/4/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Egyptian filmmaker Marwan Hamed, the director of “The Yacoubian Building,” “The Blue Elephant” and “The Blue Elephant 2,” which last year became the highest-grossing Egyptian film in history, is shooting “Kira and El Gen,” based on Ahmed Mourad’s book “1919,” about Egyptian resistance to British occupation. He spoke to Variety about the project at the Cairo Film Festival.
Produced by Ahmed Badawy, managing director of Tamer Morsi’s Synergy Films, the budget is north of $10 million, making it the most expensive film in Egyptian cinema history. The film stars some of the biggest names in Arab cinema, including Karim Abdel Aziz, Ahmed Ezz, Hind Sabri and Ahmad Malek. British actor Sam Hazeldine also appears.
Hamed says that the opening of cinemas in Saudi Arabia with its sizeable box-office potential has created a landscape where Arab financiers can plan for better returns on films. “What actually encouraged such an investment...
Produced by Ahmed Badawy, managing director of Tamer Morsi’s Synergy Films, the budget is north of $10 million, making it the most expensive film in Egyptian cinema history. The film stars some of the biggest names in Arab cinema, including Karim Abdel Aziz, Ahmed Ezz, Hind Sabri and Ahmad Malek. British actor Sam Hazeldine also appears.
Hamed says that the opening of cinemas in Saudi Arabia with its sizeable box-office potential has created a landscape where Arab financiers can plan for better returns on films. “What actually encouraged such an investment...
- 12/6/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
The deal is part of a new collaboration aimed at bolstering the international release of Egyptian features.
Egypt’s Misr International Films (Mif) and Arab cinema promotional agency Mad Solutions have announced they are teaming to co-distribute worldwide record-breaking hit The Blue Elephant: Dark Whispers (El Feel-el Azra’a) as part of a new collaboration aimed at bolstering the international release of Egyptian features.
Also known simply as The Blue Elephant 2, the film is the sequel to Marwan Hamad’s 2014 horror mystery drama starring Karim Aziz as a psychiatrist specialised in working with interned mental patients who are also criminals.
Egypt’s Misr International Films (Mif) and Arab cinema promotional agency Mad Solutions have announced they are teaming to co-distribute worldwide record-breaking hit The Blue Elephant: Dark Whispers (El Feel-el Azra’a) as part of a new collaboration aimed at bolstering the international release of Egyptian features.
Also known simply as The Blue Elephant 2, the film is the sequel to Marwan Hamad’s 2014 horror mystery drama starring Karim Aziz as a psychiatrist specialised in working with interned mental patients who are also criminals.
- 9/9/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
One of the most prominent names in Egyptian cinema, Marwan Hamed rose to fame thanks to his acclaimed directorial debut, <em>The Yacoubian Building.</em> Based on the much-loved novel by Alaa Al Aswany about the colorful residents of a Cairo apartment block, the 2006 drama is still considered the Egyptian film with the highest budget ever, but would also become one of the country's most successful productions.
Eight years later, Hamed turned his attention to another best-selling novel, Ahmed Mourad's thriller <em>The Blue Elephant. </em>The film became another local blockbuster and dominated the 2014 edition ...
Eight years later, Hamed turned his attention to another best-selling novel, Ahmed Mourad's thriller <em>The Blue Elephant. </em>The film became another local blockbuster and dominated the 2014 edition ...
- 4/30/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
One of the most prominent names in Egyptian cinema, Marwan Hamed rose to fame thanks to his acclaimed directorial debut, The Yacoubian Building. Based on the much-loved novel by Alaa Al Aswany about the colorful residents of a Cairo apartment block, the 2006 drama is still considered the Egyptian film with the highest budget ever, but would also become one of the country's most successful productions.
Eight years later, Hamed turned his attention to another best-selling novel, Ahmed Mourad's thriller The Blue Elephant. The film became another local blockbuster and dominated the 2014 edition of the Egyptian Film Association Festival, with nine wins (including...
Eight years later, Hamed turned his attention to another best-selling novel, Ahmed Mourad's thriller The Blue Elephant. The film became another local blockbuster and dominated the 2014 edition of the Egyptian Film Association Festival, with nine wins (including...
- 4/27/2018
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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