Daughters Of Abdul-Rahman Wins Audience Award at Cairo International Film Festival
After its world premiere at
Cairo International Film Festival, Daughters Of Abdul-Rahman won the
Audience Award (Youssef Cherif Rizkallah Award). The award was handed out to the film’s director
Zaid Abu Hamdan and its star
Saba Mubarak during the closing ceremony that was held on Sunday at
Cairo Opera House. Daughters of Abdul-Rahman competed in the International Competition.
" I would like to extend my thanks to my home country, Jordan, which has supported us to present the film as well as possible. Also, I thank the producer and my sister and I grant this award to the whole cast and to my companion on this journey
Zaid Abu Hamdan. I am truly glad at the film’s success. Through this film, we send a message that women shouldn’t be marginalized and should be free regardless of their appearance and social status,” said
Saba Mubarak during her acceptance speech.
The film saw a massive turnout while screening at the festival. All the tickets were sold out despite the fact the screenings were held in some of the festival’s biggest venues (
Grand Hall, Fountain Theatre, Zamalek Cinema). Moreover,
Saba Mubarak slayed the red carpet with her look and surprised Cairo audiences with her role as
Amal. Zainab wakes up to a shocking discovery that could defame her in the neighborhood. She quickly calls for her sister’s aid. Yet, fiery Amaal has her own secret struggle and is not having her sister Samah, who is too busy to be there. Meanwhile Khitam tries to focus on her own mission.
Written and directed by
Zaid Abu Hamdan,
Daughters Of Abdul-Rahman stars
Saba Mubarak,
Farah Bsieso,
Hanan Hillo,
Mariam Al Basha, and
Khalid Al Tarifi, and features
Dina Farouk as the film editor. It is produced by
Pan East Media (
Saba Mubarak &
Aya Wuhoush),
Lagoonie Film Production,
Arab Media Network and
Wika For Film Production and Distribution.
MAD Solutions and
Lagoonie Film Production handle the film’s distribution in the Arab world.
Previously, the film received multiple funds, including
Doha Film Institute development fund, the
Jordan Film Fund of the Royal Film Commission development and production funds, as well as a fund from
CineGouna Platform (post production) at
El Gouna Film Festival. The film was also selected among the finalist projects at the
Tribeca Film Festival - All Access program, and for
RFC Rawi Screenwriters Lab.
Born and raised in Amman, Jordan,
Zaid Abu Hamdan holds an MFA from the
New York Film Academy in Hollywood California. Zaid started his career working on international TV shows as an Assistant Director and Producer, including
E! Entertainment’s coverage of the
Golden Globe and Academy Awards. In addition, Zaid worked as a television reporter for Middle East Broadcast Corporation group (
MBC Group) in Hollywood. He also worked on directing reality and scripted shows such as
Sesame Street, a competition that shows and mentors the
Arab Film Studio program at
Image Nation, Abu Dhabi. Since 2009,
Zaid has written and directed five award winning and audience acclaimed short films, including
Bahiya & Mahmoud, which was the official Jordanian submission to the
Academy Awards in 2012.