MAD Solutions continues its activities at international film festivals, as it is going to screen five films of its distribution at the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam (October 11-15, 2017). The films are: Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim, A Day For Women, Until The Birds Return (En Attendant Les Hirondelles), Abraham and Egyptian Jeanne d'Arc.

The festival has chosen Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim, which is jointly distributed by MAD Solutions and Film Clinic-Indie Distribution (FCID), as the festival's opening film to screen on October 11 with the attendance of its director Sherif El Bendary. A Day for Women by Kamla Abouzekri will be screened on October 14 and 15 with the attendance of its lead actress and producer Elham Shahin who will also be honored at the festival for her contributions to Arab and Egyptian cinema as an actress and producer, Until The Birds Return (En Attendant Les Hirondelles) by Karim Moussaoui will be screened on October 12 and 13, the short film Abraham by Ali Kareem Obaid will be screened on October 14 and Egyptian Jeanne d'Arc by Iman Kamel will be screened on October 14.

The Arab Film Festival Rotterdam is an artistic forum where a nuanced image of the cultural, political, social and artistic situation in the Arab world is shown and in which films about hot topics in the Arab communities in Europe are programmed. By doing this, the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam creates space for an open dialogue about art, human rights, emancipation and political freedom in Arab countries and in Europe as a whole and in the Netherlands in particular.

About Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim

Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim follows a strange love story of a young man living in a rough neighborhood. He travels across Egypt on the recommendation of a psychic along with Ibrahim who is almost driven mad by the voices he hears in his head. Their journey turns into a voyage of friendship and self-discovery.

The film's world premiere was held at the 2016 Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), where it competed within the Muhr Feature competition and Ali Sobhi won the Best Actor Award for his role in the film. Director Sherif El Bendary's debut feature Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim took part in the Mons International Love Film Festival in Belgium, making its outside the Arab world premiere, besides its participation in the 19th Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Paris (January 12 - 16). The film won three awards during its participation in the Final Cut Workshop at the Venice International Film Festival.

About A Day For Women:

A Day for Women takes place in a shabby neighborhood in Egypt where a youth center decides to allocate one day on the swimming pool for women only. The film follows the consequences of this decision on the social, psychological and emotional life of the women living in that neighborhood.
A Day For Women had its world premiere at the 60th BFI London Film Festival, run by the British Film Institute (BFI), within the Debate Strand section. The film competed in the official competition of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), where its star Nahed El Sebai won the Best Actress Award for her role in the film. The leads Elham Shahin, Nelly Karim and Nahed El Sebai shared the Best Actress Award of the Kazan International Muslim Film Festival held in the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia.

About Until The Birds Return (En Attendant Les Hirondelles):

Past and present collide in the lives of a newly wealthy property developer, an ambitious neurologist impeded by wartime wrongdoings and a young woman torn between the path of reason and sentiment.
The film won the Wihr d'Or and Best Director awards at the Oran International Arabic Film Festival and was selected at the Un Certain Regard of the Cannes Film Festival 2017.

About Abraham:

Set against the backdrop of ISIS' imposition of the "jizya" or tax on non-Muslims in its territories, a Christian family devises a plan to protect its only daughter. However, their "perfect" solution might end up having more tragic consequences than intended. Abraham is directed by Ali Kareem Obaid and stars Sara El Debuçh, Mohamed Zouaoui, Basil Al Ali, Faisal Dasser and Wolf Layban.

About Egyptian Jeanne d'Arc

The documentary film Egyptian Jeanne d'Arc tells the true stories of resistance by Egyptian women since the outbreak of the revolution in 2011 through mythic story elements, poetic narration and dance. The film is directed by Iman Kamel, and co-produced by Nomad's Home Production (Iman Kamel) and Linked Productions (Talal Al-Muhanna). The film marks Iman's second collaboration with Kuwaiti producer Talal Al-Muhanna.

Egyptian Jeanne d'Arc was nominated for the 2013 Arab-German Film Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung Foundation in Germany. The film was presented at pitching and co-production forums such as Africa Produce (Tarifa, Spain), and Amiens Screenplay Development Fund (France). Egyptian Jeanne d'Arc had its world premiereat the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF)in its Muhr Feature competition. The Culturist has selected the film as one of the 30 Must Watch films at the 2016 edition of DIFF.Recently, the film competed for the Best Film Award in the 6 Plaza competition, which screens films from developing countries, at the 2017 Eurasia International Film Festival held in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.

Screening Times of the Films at the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam (GMT+2)

Ali, the Goat and Ibrahim (Opening Film)
Wednesday, October 11, 07:45 PM
Thursday, October 12, 09:30 PM

A Day For Women
Saturday, October 14, 08:00 PM
Sunday, October 15, 04:50 PM

Until The Birds Return (En Attendant Les Hirondelles)
Thursday, October 12, 06:30 PM
Friday, October 13, 04:00 PM

Abraham
Saturday, October 14, 03:05 PM

Egyptian Jeanne d'Arc
Saturday, October 14, 06:00 PM