Following an impressive international festival run, the acclaimed Egyptian introspective family documentary 50 METERS, written and directed by Yomna Khattab, has earned its first festival-circuit award, winning Best Feature Film in the Non-Fiction Competition at the ninth edition of the Santiago del Estero Film Festival in Argentina, held from June 15th to 20th.
 
In its statement, the festival jury praised the film, saying: “For its precise and sensitive use of non-fiction language and metalanguage; for the filmmaker's ability to transform cinema into a tool for asking questions about her own life, questions that transcend the screen and extend to the viewer; for the construction of an intimate universe and complex, profoundly human characters; and for the delicacy with which she works with both what is said and what remains unspoken, the jury awards the Prize for Best Non-Fiction Feature Film to 50 METERS, written and directed by Yomna Khattab.”
 
Set by a 50-meter training pool, Yomna, a first-time director, is struggling to make her film happen. She decides to turn her camera on her distant father and uses her developing film elements to approach him. Through writing fictional scenes and drafting voice-overs, Yomna succeeds in breaching her father’s shell and sharing with him her existential questions. By finally showing her vulnerability, Yomna is able to reconcile with her father and herself before moving forward with her life choices.
 
Since its world premiere at the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival (CPH: DOX) in Denmark, 50 METERS has continued to captivate audiences worldwide. The film has screened at the Mostra de València – Cinema del Mediterrani Festival in Spain; the Oran International Arab Film Festival in Algeria; CINEMED – Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival in France; the Middle East Now Film Festival in Italy; the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt, where it held its Arab World premiere; as well as the Slamdance Film Festival in Los Angeles and the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
 
The film has also garnered significant recognition throughout its festival journey, earning a nomination for Best Documentary at the Critics Awards for Arab Films.
 
An Egyptian-Danish-Saudi co-production, 50 METERS brings together several notable talents under Khattab’s helm, including award-winning composer Jonas Colstrup (THE GULLSPÅNG MIRACLE), editors Gladys Joujou (BYE BYE TIBERIAS) and Khaled Moeit (SOUAD), along with producers Ahmed Amer of A. A. Films and Patricia Drati of Good Company Pictures.
Additionally, the film's international sales are handled by MAD World, while MAD Distribution is in charge of its MENA-wide distribution.
 
Yomna Khattab is a filmmaker based in Cairo. She originally acquired an MA in economics from the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. Yomna’s book of short stories, VIDEOTAPE FROM THE NINETIES, was published in 2015 by Dar El Shorouk. As a scriptwriter, her feature film ROKAYA' won Best Script From a Young Scriptwriter at the 2018 edition of the Sawiris Cultural Award.
 
She also wrote and produced the short film LET US PLAY YESTERDAY, which won the Film Prize Robert Bosch 2021 Development Fund and premiered at the International Short Film Competition of the sixth El Gouna Film Festival. Yomna’s main interest in her work is to explore the politics and economics affecting women’s choices, in addition to modern family dynamics in contemporary times.