MAD Solutions Launches the Stars in Shorts and Oscars Shorts Programmes at Zamalek Cinema on 15 and 21 January

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After Full-house Screenings in Cairo and Other Governorates

MAD Solutions Launches the Stars in Shorts and Oscars Shorts Programmes at Zamalek Cinema on 15 and 21 January


After full-house screenings in Cairo and other governorates during November and December, MAD Solutions continues the commercial release of its short films by releasing nine short films during January within the Stars in Shorts and Oscars Shorts Programmes. The Stars in Shorts Programme will be launched at Zamalek Cinema on Sunday, the 21st of January. The programme is one of its kind in the Arab world and includes four Arab short films starring a number of salient stars including Tunisian star Hend Sabry, Palestinian stars Ashraf Barhoum and Ali Soliman, Lebanese stars Julian Farhat and Yumna Marwan, and Algerian star Adila Bendimerad. The four short films received a number of awards during their participation at prestigious festivals around the world.

MAD Solutions is also relaunching the Oscars Shorts Programme for the fourth time in Egypt on Monday, the 15th of January at Zamalek Cinema. The programme includes five hit Arab short films that made it to the Oscars; AVE MARIA by director Basil Khalil (Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short), Ayny by director Ahmed Saleh (The Gold Medal at the Student Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Animation), Nocturne in Black by director Jimmy Keyrouz (Shortlisted for the Best Live-Action Short Film at the 89th Academy Awards), The Rifle, The Jackal, The Wolf, and The Boy by director Oualid Mouaness (Shortlisted for the 89th Academy Awards' Best Live-Action Short Film), and Bahiya & Mahmoud by director Zaid Abu Hamdan (Official Jordanian submission to the Academy Awards for the Best Live-Action Short).

The Stars in Shorts Programme

The Parrot
Directed by Darin J. Sallam and Amjad Al-Rasheed, the film stars Hend Sabry, Ashraf Barhoum, Yasmine Ben Amara, Eyad Hourani, Firas Taybeh, Lara Sawalha, and Ahmad Al-Madani, and written by Darin J. Sallam, Amjad Al-Rasheed and Rifqi Assaf. The Parrot tells the story of the Mizrahi Jewish family, who emigrate from Morocco, trying to settle into their new life in Haifa, Palestine in 1948.


The Parrot had its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) within the Muhr Short competition and won the Jury Award at the Malmö Arab Film Festival (MAFF) in Sweden. The film is one of the film projects funded by the German Robert Bosch Stiftung Foundation, which funds the Best German-Arab film projects. The film received the 2015 Film Prize of RBS in the short fiction category.

Submarine
Directed by Mounia Akl, Submarine stars Julian Farhat, Yumna Marwan, and Adel Chahine. Under the imminent threat of Lebanon's garbage crisis, Hala, a wild child inside of a woman is the only one to refuse evacuation, clinging to whatever remains of home.

Submarine's world premiere was held at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 and it also participated in the Toronto International Film Festival, in addition to more than 20 international festivals around the world. The film won the Special Jury Prize in the Muhr Short competition at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) and the James Bridges production grant.


Five Boys and A Wheel
Directed by Said Zagha, Five Boys and A Wheel stars Ali Suliman, Nadira Omran and Haydar Kfoof.The film isbased on American author Raymond Carver's short story 'Bicycles, Muscles, Cigarettes'. Set in Jordan, a young father has to help his son out of a petty conflict with the neighbors. As the parents of each respective family are summoned to discuss the issue at hand, the discussions begin to quickly spin out of control, putting the values of the father to test.

Five Boys and A Wheel won the Golden Wahr Award at the Oran International Arabic Film Festival in Algeria and the Silver Palm award at the Mexico International Film Festival. The film landed its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).


Kindil El Bahr
Kindil El Bahr is directed by Damien Ounouri, who also co-wrote the film with the film's star Adila Bendimerad. Alongside Bendimerad, the film stars Nabil Asli, Aziz Boukerouni, and Souad Sebki. Dealing with violence against women, Kindil El Bahr follows, Nfissa, a young mother who during a beach daytrip with her family is drowned by a group of young men while swimming offshore. Nobody seems to witness her disappearing. Anxiety and fear grow among the family, especially as, on the same beach, bathers mysteriously start to die.

Kindil El Bahr landed its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and won more than eight awards at many international festivals, namely, two awards in the Long Narrative Films competition at the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF), the Special Jury Award and Best Film from the Rossellini Jury of Roberto Rossellini Institute at the MedFilm Festival in Italy, an Honorable Mention and the Jury Prize at the Oran Arab Film Festival in Algeria, the Filmmaker to Filmmaker award at the Aspen Film Festival in USA, and a Special Mention at the African Film Festival of Tarifa and Tangier (FCAT).