Short film Al Sit, by Suzannah Mirghani, Anas Tolba’s feature film Between Two Seas will take part in the 4th Beirut Women International Film Festival (July 19- 23). Al Sit will screen between the hours of 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM on Thursday, July 22, while Between Two Seas will screen between the hours of 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM, Lebanon time (GMT+3), on Wednesday, July 21.

In addition to the two previous films, MAD Solutions is sending two other films to the Beirut Women International Film Festival, which are Fiela's Child, by director Brett Michael Innes, and the short film Bomb, by Dima Hamdan.

Beirut International Women Film Festival (BWFF) is an annual event held in Beirut that brings together filmmakers and cinema lovers from all over the world. BWFF tackles issues such as gender equality, sexual identity, and domestic violence, through the power of the lens and cinema, which is the window on society and particularly women in this case.
About Between Two Seas:

Between Two Seas has received 21 awards in total. Most recently, the film won six awards at the Egyptian National Film Festival and two Best Director awards for Anas Tolba and Best Script at Festival International du Cinéma de la Diversité Taza in Morocco. It also won Best Narrative Feature and a Certificate of Outstanding Achievement (Screenplay), at the Brooklyn Film Festival and two other awards during its world premiere at the 3rd Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF)

The film was screened at several regional and international film festivals, including the Red Carpet Human Rights Film Festival in Palestine, Karama Human Rights Film Festival in Jordan, Religion Today Film Festival in Italy, Aarhus Arab Film Festival in Denmark, Arab Film Festival Tübingen in Germany, and the Mostra de Valencia in Spain.

While on a short visit to her home village, a small rural island near Cairo, Zahra's daughter is exposed to a tragic accident. Following this incident, Zahra persists on getting her daughter's right and insists on not only continuing her education but also benefiting her community. The film sheds light on different societal issues faced by women, especially in rural areas.

Directed by Anas Tolba and written by Mariam Naoum, based on a script by Amany El Tounsy and Karim El Dalil, Between Two Seas stars Fatma Adel, Yara Goubran, Tharaa Goubail, Mahmoud Fares, Arfa Abdel Rassoul, and Lobna Wanas. The film is produced by Axeer and executive produced by Abdelrahman Al Garwani. MAD Solutions handles the film’s marketing and distribution in the Arab world.

About Al Sit:

In a cotton-farming village in Sudan, 15-year-old Nafisa has a crush on Babiker, but her parents have arranged her marriage to Nadir, a young Sudanese businessman who lives abroad. Nafisa’s grandmother Al-Sit, the powerful village matriarch, has her own plans for Nafisa’s future. But can Nafisa choose for herself?
The film presents a sentimental story that revolves around Sudanese women; women who are in power and women who are vulnerable, shedding the light on both ends of the social chain and the changes imposed by the modernized world on society.

Previously, the film won over 10 international awards. Previously, it nabbed Best Short at Ismailia international film festival for documentaries and shorts; the Audience Choice Award, and the Jury Award for Most Promising Filmmaker for the film’s director at Toronto Arab Film Festival; the Grand Prix at the 51st edition of the Oscar-qualifying Tampere Film Festival; two awards at Malmo Arab Film Festival, Sweden; Best Script award and Special Mention at Huesca International Film Festival, Spain; Special Jury award at Busan International Short Film Festival, Korea, and Award for Excellence in Arab Filmmaking at The European Independent Film Festival, France.

Furthermore, it nabbed the Canal+/Cine+ Award, which was presented by the French channel Canal Plus Cinema within the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, where the film landed its international premiere. Most recently, the film had its world premiere at the latest edition of the Ajyal Film Festival in Qatar.

Al-Sit is written and directed by Suzannah Mirghani, who co-produced it along with Eiman Mirghani, and stars Mihad Murtada, Rabeha Mohammed, Mohammed Magdi and Haram Basher. The film is distributed in the Arab world by MAD Solutions and has previously received a development workshop and a production grant from Doha Film Institute, as well as a design grant from VCUarts Qatar.