Indiewire Praises Factory Girl's Burgeoning Success in Film Festivals Worldwide

Back to Press Releases

So far Landed Its Leading Star Yasmin Raeis 6 Awards

Indiewire Praises Factory Girl's Burgeoning Success in Film Festivals Worldwide


On her blog featured on Indiewire, Film Critic Sydney Levine dedicated an article heralding Mohamed Khan's award-winning Factory Girl where she traced all the great success the film achieved on international platforms back to the incorporation of several success elements in this film; starting from the funding and production to a great team and powerful marketing and distribution plans that's been carried out by MAD Solutions.

Levine stated, "A year has passed since its theatrical release in the Arab world and Factory Girl continues its burgeoning success, carrying forward within non-stop lucrative festival tours worldwide reaping awards including 4 prizes for its leading star Yasmin Raeis."

A leading news, information on film festivals worldwide and networking site for independent-minded filmmakers and the industry and moviegoers alike, Indiewire is a platform to that have emerged as a hub for the community.

In a fresh breakthrough for Mohamed Khan's Factory Girl across international film festivals, as stated by Levine, through Indiwiere, revealed that the film will be having its first release beyond the Arab world in 9 cities across Sweden through the Arab Cinema in Sweden (ACIS), a distribution arm under the umbrella of Malmo Arab Film Festival. A wider cinematic release plan in further countries will be announced soon.

The film hit Egyptian theaters on March 19th, 2014, and was released in the UAE the next day, and then it carried on its flourishing commercial tour across Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and other 3 Arab countries. Garnering a total of 1.6 million EGP in Egyptian box office, Factory Girl ran in cinemas for 19 consecutive weeks.

The film has also been presented at the European Film Market (EFM) within the 65th Berlin International Film Festival through the Arab Cinema Center (ACC), which is helmed by MAD Solutions as part of its long-term strategy in backing and promoting Arab filmmaking.

Helmed by veteran director Mohamed Khan, the film is written by Wessam Soliman, and stars Yasmin Raeis, Hani Adel, Salwa Khattab, Salwa Mohamed Ali, Ibtihal El Sereti a diverse array of new promising stars. The film is produced by Mohamed Samir's DayDream Art Production and is distributed in the Arab world by MAD Solutions, which also promoted the film worldwide.

Factory Girl tells the story of Hiyam (Raeis), a young factory worker, lives in a lower-middle-class neighborhood, along with her co-workers. She is clearly under the spell of Salah, the factory's new supervisor, who has expressed his admiration for her. She believes love can transcend the class differences between them. However, when a pregnancy test is discovered in the factory premises, her family and close friends accuse her of sinning. Hiyam decides not to defend herself and pays an enormous price in a society that fails to accept independent women.

Mohamed Khan's Factory Girl was Egypt's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 87th Academy Awards (Oscars). The film also received 13 awards and a special mention from festivals worldwide. In December 2013, the film had its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival within the Muhr Arab Feature competition where the film received the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award for the Arab Feature Competition, and the film's star Yasmin Raeis walked away with the Best Actress award. In July 2014, the film earned a Special Jury Prize from MEDFilm Festival in Italy, where it was screened at the opening gala of the festival.

After a successful tour across 18 international film festivals, Yasmin Raeis added a total of 6 awards to her record the last of which has been granted to the Egyptian star at the International Oriental Film Festival in Geneva where she received a Special Mention from the Jury of the Feature Film section for her outstanding performance.

Previously Raeis received 5 awards from international film festivals namely; the Best Actress Award from Dubai International Film Festival 2013, Best Actress Award from Malmo Arab Film Festival in Sweden, Best Actress Award at the 18th Egyptian National Film Festival, the Best Actress Award at the 41st Egyptian Film Association Festival, and most recently Best Actress from Silk Road Film Festival in Dublin, Ireland.

At the 41st Egyptian Film Association Festival, the film earned the Excellence Award for director Mohamed Khan; a Special Jury Award; Best Supporting Actress for Salwa Khatab; Best Screenplay award for Wessam Suleiman; and Best Film Editing award for Dina Farouk. Screenwriter Wessam Soliman also received the Best Writing Award at the Sala Women Film Festival in Morocco.

Factory Girl ended 2014 with receiving multiple awards from international film festivals earning 4 awards from 18th Egyptian National Film Festival, which hosted an honorary screening for the film at the closing ceremony after competing in the festival's Feature-length Competition. The film swept the festival's major awards; The First Prize, Best Director award and Best Screenplay award.

At the 36rd Egyptian Catholic Centre Cinema Festival, a Certificate of Artistic Creativity has been handed to Salwa Mohamed Ali for her role in Factory Girl, the festival also granted MAD Solutions, the film's distributor, a Certificate of Appreciation.