MAD Solutions celebrates a remarkable night at the Doha Film Festival as four of its films earned top honors across major competitive categories. THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB won the Best Feature Film Award in the Ajyal Film Competition; Majid Eid and Nader Abd Elhay received the Best Performance Award in the International Feature Film Competition for their roles in ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA; MY FATHER AND QADDAFI claimed the Best Documentary Award; and COTTON QUEEN captured the festival’s coveted Audience Award, underscoring the diverse artistic power of MAD’s regional and international slate.
 
THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, was honored with the Best Feature Film Award in the Ajyal Film Competition, cementing its critical acclaim and impact at the festival. The film tells the harrowing true story of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. On January 29th, 2024, Red Crescent volunteers received an emergency call from Hind, trapped in a car under fire, pleading for rescue. The film incorporates real-life voice recordings between Hind and the Red Crescent correspondents who attempted to save her.
 
Starring Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees, Clara Khoury, and Amer Hlehel, with cinematography by Juan Sarmiento G., editing by Qutaiba Barhamji, Maxime Mathis, and Kaouther Ben Hania, music by Amine Bouhafa, and production design by Bassam Marzouk, the film was the closing feature of the 46th Cairo International Film Festival and also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
 
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA, directed by Tarzan and Arab Nasser, earned the Best Performance Award in the International Feature Film Competition, awarded jointly to actors Majid Eid and Nader Abd Elhay for their outstanding roles. Set in 2007 Gaza, the film explores the gripping story of Yahya, a young student who forges a friendship with Osama, a charismatic restaurant owner with a big heart. Together, they begin peddling drugs while delivering falafel sandwiches, but they are soon forced to grapple with a corrupt cop and his oversized ego. The film also follows Yahya being persuaded to lead the first action film ever made in the city.
 
Starring Nader Abd Elhay, Ramzi Maqdisi, and Majid Eid, with cinematography by Christophe Graillot, editing by Sophie Reine, and music by Amine Bouhafa, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section, where it won Best Director, and has since screened at over 20 international festivals, including Yerevan Golden Apricot and Cairo International Film Festival.
 
MY FATHER AND QADDAFI, directed by Jihan, won the Best Documentary Award, adding a significant milestone to its journey. The documentary follows a daughter as she unravels the disappearance of her father, Mansour Rashid Kikhia — former Libyan Foreign Minister, UN ambassador, and opposition leader to Muammar Qaddafi — and pieces together her mother’s 19-year search to find him. Without any memory of her father, she tries to reconnect with him and reconcile with her Libyan identity.
 
The film had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival and screened at multiple festivals, including the Chicago International Film Festival and Doha Film Festival.
 
Cinematography was handled by Jihan, Micah Walker, and Mike McLaughlin; editing by Alessandro Dordoni, Chloe Lambourne, and Nicole Halova; and music by Tiago Correa Paulo.
 
COTTON QUEEN, written and directed by Suzannah Mirghani, captured the Audience Award following a highly praised screening to capacity audiences. Set in a cotton-farming village in Sudan, COTTON QUEEN follows teenage Nafisa, who is raised on heroic tales of resistance against British colonizers, told by her grandmother, the village matriarch Al-Sit. When a young businessman arrives from abroad with a development plan and genetically engineered cotton, Nafisa finds herself at the center of a power struggle over the future of her community. As she awakens to her own strength, she sets out to protect the cotton fields—and herself. Neither she nor her village will ever be the same again.
 
Starring Mihad Murtada, Rabha Mohamed Mahmoud, Talaat Fareed, Haram Basheer, Mohamed Musa, and Hasan Mohieldin, with cinematography by Frida Marzouk, the film premiered at Venice Critics’ Week and recently won the Theo Angelopoulos Golden Alexander for Best Feature at the Thessaloniki Film Festival.
 
Each award highlights MAD Films’ growing influence in celebrating visionary Arab storytellers, while MAD World and MAD Distribution continue to expand the reach of bold, authentic, and transformative regional cinema on the global stage.