MAD Solutions joins the 43rd Cairo International Film Festival ( Nov.26-Dec.5) with 3 films:  Daughters Of Abdul-Rahman, directed by Zaid Abu Hamdan and starring Saba Mubarak, which will land its world premiere at the International Competition for feature fiction films; Streams, by Mehdi Hmili, that will land its Arab world premiere at the Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition and  Our River...Our Sky, by Maysoon Pachachi  which will land its Arab world premiere at the Horizons of Arab Cinema Competition.
 
Cairo International Film Festival is one of the oldest and most celebrated festivals in the Arab world and Africa. It is the only festival in the Arab and African region to be accorded category “A” status by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations in Paris (FIAPF).
 
 Daughters Of Abdul-Rahman:
Years after escaping a dictated life, four estranged and offbeat sisters are forced to come together to find their suddenly-missing father. In their secret searching journey, secrets are revealed and more question marks are raised.
 
Written and directed by Zaid Abu Hamdan, Daughters Of Abdul-Rahman stars Saba Mubarak, Farah Bsaiso, Hanan Al Hilo, Mariam Al Basha, and Mohamed Bakri. It is produced by Pan East Media (Saba Mubarak & Aya Wuhoush), Lagoonie Film Production, and Arab Media Network. MAD Solutions handles 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 finalists projects at the Tribeca Film Festival - All Access program, and RFC Rawi Screenwriters Lab.
 
Streams:
The film recently landed its world premiere at the Locarno Festival in the Netherlands, where it competed at the Filmmakers of the Present (Concorso Cineasti del presente) competition, and screened at Zurich Film Festival.
 
Amel is released from prison after an adulterous affair. In the lower depths of Tunis, Amel is searching for her missing son Moumen. During her journey, Amel faces a Tunisian society in full collapse.
 
Written and directed by Mehdi Hmili, Streams stars Afef Ben Mahmoud, Iheb Bouyahia, Zaza, Sarah Hannachi and Slim Baccar and features music composer Amine Bouhafa. MAD Solutions handles the film’s distribution across the Arab world. Streams is a joint production between Yol Film House (Tunisia), Tarantula (Luxembourg), MPM Film (France), Clandestino Production (Tunisia), in association with Allam Film (USA).
 
It was developed in the prestigious Canadian workshop (Grand Nord) and received the screenplay Prize of the Institut Français, the CineGouna post-production prize, as well as grants from The Tunisian National Center of Cinema, The Film Fund Luxembourg, and The French National Center of Cinema.
 
Our River...Our Sky
The narrative in Our River…Our Sky (aka Kulshi Makoo in Arabic) is set against a background of sectarian violence in the last week of 2006, between Christmas and the Adha Eid.  It tells the stories of ordinary Iraqis trying to live their everyday lives in Baghdad, the capital;  despite unpredictable violent events, which put them in peril. Sara, a single mother and novelist, who has a writer’s block, triggered by such non verbale violence.  Shortly before the New Year, following unexpected news, Sara and her neighbors brace themselves for an uncertain future while trying to sustain a fragile sense of hope.
 
Our River...Our Sky, had a full house screening for its world premiere screening at the 27th edition of  Sarajevo Film Festival.
 
Our River...Our Sky won the $100,000 IWC Filmmaker Award at Dubai International Film Festival. The film was supported by prominent institutions in the Middle East, including SANAD, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC). In Europe, it was supported by Institut Francais and CNC, in France and British Film Institute, amongst others, and was awarded The Cell Post Production award at Malmo Arab Film Festival Market Forum in 2020.
 
The film is written by Maysoon Pachachi who co-wrote it with  Irada Al Jabbouri.  The cast includes Darina Al Joundi (as Sara), Basim Hajar,  Meriam Abbas and renowned Iraqi actor Mahmoud Abo Al Abbas.  The production was initially developed by Oxymoron Films (UK) and Linked Productions (Kuwait) and made in co production with its other main producers Les Contes Modernes (France) and Neue Mediopolis Filmproduktion (Germany).  MAD Solutions handles the film’s distribution across the Arab world.