Egyptian films top list of Arabic-language titles at Venice Film Festival

A wide range of Egyptian films dominate the Arabic-language selection at Venice this year, including two feature-length debuts, by Khaled Mansour and Muhammed Hamdy, which represent new directions in Egyptian cinema.

Mansour is the author of the endearing and enjoyable film “Seeking Safety for Mr. Rambo,” about a taciturn security guard whose best friend is the canine of the title, played by two different but similar-looking and highly trained dogs.

On the more experimental side of cinema is “Perfumed With Mint,” also playing in TIFF’s Wavelength section. Veteran cinematographer Hamdy (“The Square”) creates a metaphorical film that represents a generation plagued by doubts about what lies ahead.

The provocative drama “Happy Holidays” marks the solo debut of Palestinian director Scandar Copti (“Ajami”), while “Sudan, Remember Us” is a political documentary by French-Tunisian-Moroccan journalist and documentary filmmaker Hind Meddeb. Both films will also be screened at the Toronto Film Festival.

Completing the public programme is “Aïcha”, the long-awaited second feature film by Tunisian director Mehdi M. Barsaoui. His 2019 debut, “The Son”, earned Sami Bouajila a Venice Horizons acting award.

Meanwhile, a record three Egyptian titles are being screened at the ongoing Final Cut incubator in Venice. The FCV promoted the films Copti and Meddeb last year. The programme enhances Venice’s bridging role in supporting the production of quality independent films and promoting their competitiveness on the international market.

“For me, the creative and artistic value of a work remains the main criterion,” says Alessandra Speciale, FCV curator. “The greatest quality of a filmmaker, in my opinion, lies in sincerity and authenticity. I prefer an imperfect film that expresses originality to one that seeks a more standardized perfection.”

Arab cinema at Venice 2024 by sections:

Aïcha Horizons
Director: Mehdi M. Barsaoui, (Tunisia,
France, Italy, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, Qatar)
A drama centered on a woman who flees her life in a small town after miraculously surviving a bus accident, but faces difficulties with her new identity.
Sales: Party Movie Sales

Happy Holidays
Director: Scandar Copti
(Palestine, Germany, France, Qatar, Italy)
Moving back and forth in time, and seen through the eyes of several characters, this drama depicts events that influence the lives of an extended family of Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Sales: Independent Sales

Extra horizons
Seeking refuge
For Mr. Rambo
Director: Khaled Mansour
(Egypt, Saudi Arabia)
Set in a working-class neighborhood of Cairo, this first Egyptian film follows a young man forced to confront his fears as he attempts to save his canine best friend.
Sales: Film Clinic Indie Distribution

Days in Venice
Sudan, remember us
Director: Hind Meddeb
(France, Tunisia, Qatar)
A documentary portrait of Sudan that brings together fragments of the ongoing revolution in the country, using the voices of youth facing military power.
Sales: N/A

Critics’ week
Scented with mint
Director: Muhammed Hamdy (Egypt, France, Tunisia)
Emmy-winning cinematographer Hamdy makes his directorial debut with this story of two friends tragically caught in a survival puzzle as they try to escape the ghosts of their past.
Sales: Reason8 Films

Final Cut in Venice
Aisha can’t fly
Director: Morad Mostafa
(Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France)
Aisha, a 26-year-old Somali woman, lives and works in Ain Shams, a Cairo neighbourhood with a large community of African immigrants. The authorities’ indifference to the violent tension between Egyptians and various African nationalities has allowed different gangs to take control of the neighbourhood.

In this darkness
I see you
Director: Nadim Tabet
(Lebanon, France,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia)
A ghost story and suspense in which strange and potentially deadly events at a construction site create tension between Syria and the United States.
a worker and Lebanese villagers.

The scent of my father
Director: Mohamed Siam
(Egypt, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France)
After a man is discharged from hospital, his youngest son spends the night with the sick patriarch in the confined spaces of the family home.

Your daughter
Director: Sara Shazli
(Egypt)
Sara, descended from a family of filmmakers, grows up in Cairo with an Ethiopian nanny and her workaholic mother, Marianne Khoury. Twenty years later, she is confronted with her own mother and what becoming a mother might mean.