Egyptian Thriller ‘The Settlement’ Acquired by Mad World Ahead of Berlin Festival Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

by

International distribution rights for “The Settlement,” directed by Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Rashad, have been obtained by Mad World, the global sales division of a regional independent studio known as Mad Solutions. This acquisition is made prior to the movie’s debut at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival.

Drawing from real-life events, “The Settlement” – debuting from Berlin’s innovative Perspectives section – tells the tale of two brothers, the 23-year-old delinquent Hossam and 12-year-old Maro, residing in a disadvantaged Alexandrian neighborhood. Following their father’s demise in a factory mishap, they are employed by the same factory as a form of compensation, rather than them opting for legal recourse.

In the course of adapting to their fresh roles, they find themselves doubting if their father’s demise was indeed an accident and deliberating on the best approach to resolve the issue.

Or, more colloquially:

As they get used to their new gigs, they start wondering if dad really died by accident and figuring out how to sort things out regarding his passing.

In a departure from his 2016 documentary “Little Eagles” about 1970s political activism in Egypt based on his family’s personal experiences, Rashad is now making his first narrative feature film in the genre of social thriller.

Or,

Rashad, who previously made the documentary “Little Eagles” focusing on 1970s leftist activism in Egypt from a familial viewpoint, is now embarking on his debut as a narrative filmmaker with a social thriller.

Rashad emphasized that “The Settlement” required five years before it could be shown on the big screen.

During the making of the film, I managed to achieve my goals, like hiring actors who were new to the scene and incorporating real workers into key roles. Additionally, I chose to shoot in authentic locations, which allowed me to record scenes in Alexandria that closely mirrored my vision, as well as capture the industrial ambiance that I find artistically stimulating,” he expressed.

Titled “The Settlement,” this captivating production features Adham Shoukry, Ziad Islam, Hajar Omar, Mohamed Abdel Hady, and Emad Ghoneim in the leading roles. The cinematography is masterfully handled by Mahmoud Lotfi, who also worked on “Coming Forth by Day,” while Heba Othman, renowned for her work on the groundbreaking Sudanese drama “Goodbye Julia,” takes charge of the editing.

The movie is a collaborative effort among Egypt, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Hala Lotfy from Hassala Films in Cairo serves as the main producer, working alongside Etienne de Ricaud of Caractères Productions in Paris; Kesmat Elsayed of Seera Films GmbH in Berlin; and ART based in Jeddah.

Lotfy emphasized that despite being categorized as an art-house film, “The Settlement” was not made with a meager budget. She described the production process as a challenging yet fulfilling journey, which required shooting on location in Cairo and Alexandria to remain faithful to its narrative and authentic sources.

(Note: I’ve tried to maintain the original meaning while making it more conversational and easier to read.)

The film project known as ‘The Settlement’ received financing from a variety of esteemed sources, including the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), the Doha Film Institute, the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, the Red Sea Development Fund, the Fonds Image De La Francophonie Fund, and the El Gouna Film Festival’s CineGouna.

Read More

2025-01-23 16:47