In an article released just in time for the 77th Cannes Film Festival, film industry insider website Screen Daily announced that MAD Distribution, the MENA releasing arm of Cairo-based indie studio MAD Solutions, has acquired the Arab distribution rights to more than 30 individually licensed titles from as many as 16 different countries that it plans to roll out across the Arabic-speaking world in 2024 and 2025.
 
Four of these titles played in Cannes Film Festival this year: the Cannes Critics’ Week opener GHOST TRAIL by Jonathan Millet; Mo Harawe’s Un Certain Regard title THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE, which becomes the first-ever film at the Cannes Film Festival to be shot in Somalia; Saif Hammash’s Palestinian short film DEER’S TOOTH, selected for La Cinef; and Rayane Mcirdi’s Algerian-French short film AFTER THE SUN, which is playing in the Directors’ Fortnight.
 
Originating from countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar, Morocco, and Algeria, the newly acquired titles, some of which are still in various stages of production, span a multitude of storytelling tones and genres. Many are directed by women including ALL BEFORE YOU by celebrated Palestinian filmmaker Anne Marie Jacir, a dramatic retelling of the beginnings and failings of the 1936 farmer-led revolt against British colonial rule in Palestine; TUNIS DJERBA, the hot-button debut feature of Tunisian director Amel Guellaty; and Nada Mezni Hafaiedh’s TAKE MY BREATH, which has already achieved unprecedented theatrical success in Tunisia this year with more than 70,000 box office admissions.

Ten of the titles will be released by MAD Distribution in the Arab world and also handled for international sales across the rest of the world by MAD World, the company’s newly launched film sales division making its debut here at Cannes.
 
Those ten titles are: international co-production THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON by Rani Massalha; the Lebanese vampire sci-fi feature THE LAST CITY by Ghassan Salhab; the Tunisian comedy feature A BIRD FROM PARADISE by Murad Ben Cheikh (whose debut feature documentary NO MORE FEAR was selected as a Special Screening at the 64th Cannes Film Festival); the Tunisian feature film GIRL OF WIND by Moufida Fedhila; Lassaad Dkhili’s international co-production LA ZONE; the Syrian feature THIS IS MY NIGHT by Jafra Younes; Laila Abbas’ female empowerment drama THANK YOU FOR BANKING WITH US; the documentary feature HIDING SADDAM HUSSEIN by Halkawt Mustafa; Myriam El Hajj’s Lebanese feature-length documentary DIARIES FROM LEBANON, which played in this year’s Berlinale; and Mehdi Hmili’s Tunisian feature EXILE which is days away from start of production.
 
Several acquisitions reunite MAD with filmmakers that the company has collaborated with before. They include ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA by the Palestinian filmmaking twins Tarzan and Arab Nasser, who worked with MAD on the Venice and Toronto hit GAZA MON AMOUR; UNDER ONE'S BREATH by Leyla Bouzid following her Cannes entry A TALE OF LOVE AND DESIRE; THE VANISHING by Karim Moussaoui, after his Cannes entry UNTIL THE BIRDS RETURN; and director Hisham Lasri’s latest feature, HAPPY LOVERS.
 
Other titles in the lineup involving female directors include Yasemin Şamdereli’s Tribeca-bound Somali biopic SAMIA; and the international co-production short drama UPSHOT by Maha Haj, whose film MEDITERRANEAN FEVER won the Best Screenplay Prize in Un Certain Regard two years ago. Further documentaries include Omar Mouallem’s Canadian film THE LEBANESE BURGER MAFIA and Maggie Morgan’s Egyptian non-fiction film THE MEMOIRS OF M. A. DRAZ.
 
Two Tunisian features on this slate have previously received MAD Distribution Grant awards at various platforms: Mehdi Hmili’s THE SEASONS OF JANNET, which received the MAD award at the inaugural edition of the Red Sea Souk; and Sara Abidi’s WEAR AND TEAR, which won MAD’s distribution award at the MAFF Industry Days.

Rounding out the slate are Marya Zarif and André Kadi’s Canadian-French animation DOUNIA AND THE PRINCESS OF ALEPPO, which has enjoyed extensive play on the international festival circuit;  the Iraqi-Qatari thriller feature THE WINDOW by Koutaiba Al-Janabi, whose feature film LEAVING BAGHDAD won a British Independent Film Award; Hind Meddeb’s French-Tunisian feature SUDAN, WHEN POEMS FALL APART; and Ameer Fakher Eldin’s YUNAN, which he filmed in Germany last year as a follow-up to his directorial debut THE STRANGER that won the Edipo Re Award at Venice.
 
Founded in 2010, MAD Solutions boasts a rights library of over 500 film titles and is prolific in the financing, production, packaging, sales, marketing, and releasing of Arab entertainment that spans the gamut from festival prize-winners to commercial blockbusters.
 
Headquartered in Cairo, MAD is also operational in the UAE, Lisbon, and New York, with representatives in Tunisia, Morocco, Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon. The multi-pronged studio is known for its innovative marketing strategies and industry-building initiatives, including the creation of the Arab Cinema Center and the annual Critics' Awards for Arab Films, which are handed out each year at a special beach-side ceremony during the Cannes Film Festival.