Mad Solutions Launches Mad Crew Celebrity Unit to Represent Arab Directors and Producers (Exclusive)
Prominent Arab talent management agency and film distribution company Mad Solutions is launching Mad Crew Celebrity, a new unit dedicated to boosting the careers of Arab directors and producers, as well as writers, cinematographers, costume designers, composers and editors.
Mad Crew Celebrity comes after the company in 2020 formed its Mad Rising Celebrity division, dedicated to launching up-and-coming film and TV acting talents from across the Arab world, which in turn was a specialized spin-off of its core Mad Celebrity unit for top-tier acting and TV hosting talents.
Their client list at launch includes top directors Hany Abu-Assad (“The Mountain Between Us”), Mohamed Diab (“Moon Knight”), Marwan Hamed (“Blue Elephant”), Ameer Fakher Eldin (“The Stranger”) (pictured), and producer Dora Bouchoucha (“Hedi”) (pictured), to name a few.
Other prominent behind-the-camera talents already on the Mad Crew Celebrity roster include:
– Egyptian showrunner/director/screenwriter Tahmer Mohsen (“Newton’s Cradle”).
– Producer Shahinaz El-Akkad — CEO...
Mad Crew Celebrity comes after the company in 2020 formed its Mad Rising Celebrity division, dedicated to launching up-and-coming film and TV acting talents from across the Arab world, which in turn was a specialized spin-off of its core Mad Celebrity unit for top-tier acting and TV hosting talents.
Their client list at launch includes top directors Hany Abu-Assad (“The Mountain Between Us”), Mohamed Diab (“Moon Knight”), Marwan Hamed (“Blue Elephant”), Ameer Fakher Eldin (“The Stranger”) (pictured), and producer Dora Bouchoucha (“Hedi”) (pictured), to name a few.
Other prominent behind-the-camera talents already on the Mad Crew Celebrity roster include:
– Egyptian showrunner/director/screenwriter Tahmer Mohsen (“Newton’s Cradle”).
– Producer Shahinaz El-Akkad — CEO...
- 12/7/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Egypt, which is home to the Middle East and North Africa’s biggest film industry, will not participate in the Best International Film Oscar race this year.
According to Egyptian media reports, confirmed by Deadline, the committee of critics and cinema professionals responsible for selecting the country’s submission decided not to send a film for the lack of a credible candidate.
The four films on the final shortlist comprised Marwan Hamed’s Kira & El Gin, Hadi El-Baghoury’s Full Moon, Sherif Arafa’s The Crime and Magdy Ahmed Ali’s 2 Talaat Harb.
Two films generating potential submission buzz — Nadine Khan’s Abu Saddam and Omar El Zohairy’s Cannes 2021 Critics’ Week winner Feathers — could not be taken into consideration because they did not meet the 2022 theatrical release requirements.
The decision for Egypt to opt out of the race was made at the end of September, but the news has...
According to Egyptian media reports, confirmed by Deadline, the committee of critics and cinema professionals responsible for selecting the country’s submission decided not to send a film for the lack of a credible candidate.
The four films on the final shortlist comprised Marwan Hamed’s Kira & El Gin, Hadi El-Baghoury’s Full Moon, Sherif Arafa’s The Crime and Magdy Ahmed Ali’s 2 Talaat Harb.
Two films generating potential submission buzz — Nadine Khan’s Abu Saddam and Omar El Zohairy’s Cannes 2021 Critics’ Week winner Feathers — could not be taken into consideration because they did not meet the 2022 theatrical release requirements.
The decision for Egypt to opt out of the race was made at the end of September, but the news has...
- 10/4/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Mexican director Joaquin del Paso’s coming-of-age drama “The Hole in the Fence,” set in an all-male religious camp in rural Mexico, scored the Cairo Film Festival’s top prize, the Golden Pyramid, on Sunday capping a vibrant 43rd edition of the preeminent Arab event, which was held in person despite the impending threat of the coronavirus Omicron variant.
Though there were some last minute cancellations, most international attendees made the trek to Cairo undeterred, including jury president Emir Kusturica, U.S. producer Lawrence Bender and Cannes topper Thierry Fremaux – dubbed the “King of the Croisette” by the master of ceremonies. The latter two were honored with lifetime achievement awards during the glitzy closing ceremony in Cairo’s opera house.
“Hole in the Fence,” which world premiered in Venice, is Del Paso’s second work after “Panamerican Machinery,” which had made a splash after launching from Berlin in 2016. “Hole” explores...
Though there were some last minute cancellations, most international attendees made the trek to Cairo undeterred, including jury president Emir Kusturica, U.S. producer Lawrence Bender and Cannes topper Thierry Fremaux – dubbed the “King of the Croisette” by the master of ceremonies. The latter two were honored with lifetime achievement awards during the glitzy closing ceremony in Cairo’s opera house.
“Hole in the Fence,” which world premiered in Venice, is Del Paso’s second work after “Panamerican Machinery,” which had made a splash after launching from Berlin in 2016. “Hole” explores...
- 12/6/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The Middle East premiere of caustic Spanish comedy “Official Competition” will open the Cairo Film Festival, which has assembled a rich roster of international titles for its upcoming 43rd edition, to be held in person Nov. 26-Dec. 5.
Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, who are co-directors of the colorful pic starring Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas — which turns on a billionaire businessman determined to bankroll a memorable movie — are expected, barring complications, to attend the regional launch of their Venice-premiering comedy.
Cairo, which is the grande dame of the Arab world’s cinema shindigs — and the only festival in the Middle East and North Africa region to be accorded category “A” status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in Paris (Fiapf) — has been subjected to some disruption lately caused by Saudi Arabia’s deep-pocketed Red Sea Festival.
The Red Sea Festival in May decided to move the dates for...
Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, who are co-directors of the colorful pic starring Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas — which turns on a billionaire businessman determined to bankroll a memorable movie — are expected, barring complications, to attend the regional launch of their Venice-premiering comedy.
Cairo, which is the grande dame of the Arab world’s cinema shindigs — and the only festival in the Middle East and North Africa region to be accorded category “A” status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in Paris (Fiapf) — has been subjected to some disruption lately caused by Saudi Arabia’s deep-pocketed Red Sea Festival.
The Red Sea Festival in May decided to move the dates for...
- 11/8/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
At the El Gouna Film Festival, Ahmed Fahmy’s iProductions has announced that three new feature films – “Abu Saddam,” “Have You Drunk From The Nile” and “Troubled Omar” – are to go into production from November and run to the end of next year.
Additionally, iProductions has announced that shooting has recommenced on their new fantasy drama television series “Wadi Al Jinn,” in collaboration with Viu platform, scheduled to premiere on Viu next year, and the building of new cinemas in Egypt.
“Have You Drunk From The Nile,” to be directed by Khaled Diab, heads the slate. The movie reunites the team behind Cannes entry “Clash,” with that film’s helmer Mohamed Diab as well as Sherine Diab co-scripting alongside the director. The crime caper stars Mostafa Khater and Hamdi El-Mirghani as two drug dealers who run off with a large shipment of heroin belonging to a crime kingpin.
Egyptian writer and director Nadine Khan,...
Additionally, iProductions has announced that shooting has recommenced on their new fantasy drama television series “Wadi Al Jinn,” in collaboration with Viu platform, scheduled to premiere on Viu next year, and the building of new cinemas in Egypt.
“Have You Drunk From The Nile,” to be directed by Khaled Diab, heads the slate. The movie reunites the team behind Cannes entry “Clash,” with that film’s helmer Mohamed Diab as well as Sherine Diab co-scripting alongside the director. The crime caper stars Mostafa Khater and Hamdi El-Mirghani as two drug dealers who run off with a large shipment of heroin belonging to a crime kingpin.
Egyptian writer and director Nadine Khan,...
- 10/24/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Film revolves around Muslim cleric whose life is overturned by the death of Michael Jackson in 2009.
Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawaris’s film and high-end TV production company iProductions has boarded Amr Salama’s drama Sheikh Jackson about a strict Muslim cleric obsessed with the late musical superstar Michael Jackson.
The move marks a first direct collaboration between iProductons and Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy at Cairo-based Film Clinic, whose recent credits include Clash, which premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard last year, and the offbeat comedy Ali, The Goat And Ibrahim.
“It’s an interesting development in that it lays the foundation for a longer-term relationship between the two companies,” said Hefzy, hinting that other joint productions are on the cards.
Other Egyptian partners on the film, which is expected to debut at a festival this autumn, include Hani Osama’s The Producers.
Film Clinic and The Producers have a history of working together on titles including...
Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawaris’s film and high-end TV production company iProductions has boarded Amr Salama’s drama Sheikh Jackson about a strict Muslim cleric obsessed with the late musical superstar Michael Jackson.
The move marks a first direct collaboration between iProductons and Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy at Cairo-based Film Clinic, whose recent credits include Clash, which premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard last year, and the offbeat comedy Ali, The Goat And Ibrahim.
“It’s an interesting development in that it lays the foundation for a longer-term relationship between the two companies,” said Hefzy, hinting that other joint productions are on the cards.
Other Egyptian partners on the film, which is expected to debut at a festival this autumn, include Hani Osama’s The Producers.
Film Clinic and The Producers have a history of working together on titles including...
- 5/26/2017
- ScreenDaily
Co-production market running Dec 9-11 during the Dubai International Film Festival unveils line-up.
Lebanese actress Hiam Abbass [pictured] and Palestinian director Najwa Najjar will be among the film-makers presenting their upcoming feature film projects at the Dubai Film Connection (Dfc) this year.
The annual co-production event, focused on Arab cinema and taking place during the Dubai International Film Festival (Dec 7-14), unveiled its upcoming line-up on Monday (Nov 7).
Projects
A total of 13 projects – hailing from Lebanon, Algeria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Morocco – have been selected.
Abbass will present her second feature-length film A Girl Made Of Dust, an adaptation of Nathalie Abi-Ezzi’s acclaimed novel about the experiences of a family living in a village near Beirut during the 1980s Lebanese civil war, told from the perspective of its youngest member, the eight-year-old daughter Ruba.
Najjar – who won the top prize at the Dfc in 2011 for her last film Eyes Of A Thief – returns with The...
Lebanese actress Hiam Abbass [pictured] and Palestinian director Najwa Najjar will be among the film-makers presenting their upcoming feature film projects at the Dubai Film Connection (Dfc) this year.
The annual co-production event, focused on Arab cinema and taking place during the Dubai International Film Festival (Dec 7-14), unveiled its upcoming line-up on Monday (Nov 7).
Projects
A total of 13 projects – hailing from Lebanon, Algeria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Morocco – have been selected.
Abbass will present her second feature-length film A Girl Made Of Dust, an adaptation of Nathalie Abi-Ezzi’s acclaimed novel about the experiences of a family living in a village near Beirut during the 1980s Lebanese civil war, told from the perspective of its youngest member, the eight-year-old daughter Ruba.
Najjar – who won the top prize at the Dfc in 2011 for her last film Eyes Of A Thief – returns with The...
- 11/7/2016
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Producer of Un Certain Regard opener Clash lines up new projects, including Lewis Carroll adaptation In The Land Of Wonder.
Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy [pictured] is developing a Cairo-set version of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland plunging the main character into the chaos of the city’s streets.
The project, In The Land Of Wonder, is the second film by Nadine Khan after her debut feature Chaos, Disorder, which won the jury prize at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2012.
The daughter of respected Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Khan spent a decade working as a second unit and assistant director for the likes of Yousry Nasrallah and Nabil Ayouch before making her first film.
Hefzy is in Cannes this year with Mohamed Diab’s buzzed about Un Certain Regard opener Clash about a group of people locked in a police van for 24 hours after they arrested during violent demonstrations in Cairo at the end of Islamist President...
Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy [pictured] is developing a Cairo-set version of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland plunging the main character into the chaos of the city’s streets.
The project, In The Land Of Wonder, is the second film by Nadine Khan after her debut feature Chaos, Disorder, which won the jury prize at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2012.
The daughter of respected Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Khan spent a decade working as a second unit and assistant director for the likes of Yousry Nasrallah and Nabil Ayouch before making her first film.
Hefzy is in Cannes this year with Mohamed Diab’s buzzed about Un Certain Regard opener Clash about a group of people locked in a police van for 24 hours after they arrested during violent demonstrations in Cairo at the end of Islamist President...
- 5/16/2016
- ScreenDaily
Maysoon Pachachi’s Nothing Doing In Baghdad is set to start shooting in February after securing three European co-producers and funding from Visions Sud Est and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (Afac).
Talal Al-Muhanna’s Linked Productions (Kuwait) and Pachachi’s Oxymoron Films (UK) will be joined by Patrice Nezan’s Les Contes Modernes (France), Alexander Ris’ Neue Mediopolis (Germany) and Juan Pablo Libossar’s Fasad (Sweden).
In addition to the Afac and Visions Sud Est funding, the project scooped the first $100,000 Iwc Filmmaker Award at Dubai International Film Festival in 2012 and also previously received support from Europe’s Media Mundus and Abu Dhabi’s Sanad. The three co-producers are also applying for funds.
Set in Baghdad in the last week of 2006 – when Saddam Hussein was executed – the film follows the intersecting lives of several characters of different religions living in the same neighbourhood, including a female novelist suffering from writer’s block.
“This was a time...
Talal Al-Muhanna’s Linked Productions (Kuwait) and Pachachi’s Oxymoron Films (UK) will be joined by Patrice Nezan’s Les Contes Modernes (France), Alexander Ris’ Neue Mediopolis (Germany) and Juan Pablo Libossar’s Fasad (Sweden).
In addition to the Afac and Visions Sud Est funding, the project scooped the first $100,000 Iwc Filmmaker Award at Dubai International Film Festival in 2012 and also previously received support from Europe’s Media Mundus and Abu Dhabi’s Sanad. The three co-producers are also applying for funds.
Set in Baghdad in the last week of 2006 – when Saddam Hussein was executed – the film follows the intersecting lives of several characters of different religions living in the same neighbourhood, including a female novelist suffering from writer’s block.
“This was a time...
- 12/13/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
An edgy, in-your-face sketch of Egypt’s lower depths, Chaos, Disorder can’t help but resonate with the times and thus generated a good amount of critical buzz at its Dubai festival premiere. Director Nadine Khan, a short filmmaker and well-known A.D. (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) whose father is the noted director Mohamed Khan, makes her feature film bow with a story set in a poor but lively Cairo neighborhood, a kind of exotic Bronx where two tough youths vie for a girl and scores are settled on the football field. Story: Dubai Film Festival's Best Arab
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- 12/18/2012
- by Deborah Young
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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