EXCLUSIVE: MAD World, the Dubai-based global film sales company that has just been launched by MAD Solutions, has acquired the worldwide sales rights to Morad Mostafa’s AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY, a tense African migrant drama shooting later this year in Egypt with Sawsan Yusuf producing.
 
AISHA CAN'T FLY AWAY ANYMORE follows the story of Aisha — a 26-year-old African immigrant caregiver residing in Ain-shams, a Cairo neighborhood with a large African migrant community. Through her eyes, the film explores the intricate dynamics of a world where the authorities’ indifference to the violent tensions between Egyptians and various African nationalities has allowed different gangs to seize control. The situation quickly turns sour after one of them offers Aisha security in exchange for a favor. 
 
A joint production between Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and France, AISHA CAN’T FLY AWAY boasts a stellar cast, with Buliana Simon taking on the lead role of Aisha alongside Egyptian rapper Ziad Zaza, Emad Ghoniem and Mamdouh Saleh.
 
The film marks the feature debut of Mostafa, an exciting new Egyptian filmmaker who has worked on several independent films, including as an assistant director on Aytin Amin’s SOUAD, which was an official selection of both the Cannes Film Festival and Berlinale.
 
An alumnus of the Berlinale Talents, Cinefondation, Durban Talents, and Locarno Academy, Mostafa wrote and directed four short films, three of which were selected in Clermont-Ferrand over three consecutive years and were screened in more than 300 festivals worldwide, winning several awards. His fourth short film, I PROMISE YOU PARADISE, was selected for the 2023 edition of Cannes’ Critics Week and the César Awards, where it won the Rail d’or and Valbonne award in Cannes.
 
The creative team behind the camera includes cinematographer Mostafa El Kashef, who also worked on I PROMISE YOU PARADISE along with this year’s Cannes entry THE VILLAGE NEXT TO PARADISE; art director Eman Elelaby, who earned a FIPRESCI Prize for her work on FEATHERS; costume designer Nayera Eldahshoury; and editor Mohamed Mamdouh.
 
Produced through Yusuf’s Bonanza Films, the film is a co-production involving Egypt’s Film Clinic (Mohamed Hefzy), Tunisia’s Nomadis Images (Dora Bouchoucha), Saudi Arabia’s Cinewaves (Faisal Baltyuor ), Egypt’s MAD Solutions (Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab), Egypt’s Lagoonie Film Production ( Shahinaz El Akkad), Egypt’s AAFilms (Ahmed Amer), Sudan’s Station Films (Amjad Abulala), and Dulac Productions (Michel Zana) of France.
 
The film received funding and support from the Red Sea Lodge, Doha Film Institute, AFAC Film Fund, Cultural Resource (Mawred), Cinéfondation, La Fabrique Cinema of Cannes, Cinemed Montpellier, Locarno Academy, and El Gouna Film Festival.
 
"When we set out to make this movie, we had one thing we wanted to get across, aside from Aisha’s story: we wanted to show how common the tragedies, misfortune, and cruelties that Aisha endures are,” explained Mostafa. “It's easy to grow desensitized to the pain of others around the world; it's easy to swipe away or move on to the next thing. But by putting that pain front and center for the whole world to see, we can remind everyone that these stories must not remain unaddressed, and we can give those living these stories hope that they have not been forgotten."
 
Producer Sawsan Yusuf — who produced the two shorts HENET WARD and KHADIGA and collaborated with Mostafa on I PROMISE YOU PARADISE — expressed her delight at partnering with MAD Solutions and its sales division MAD World: "It's reassuring when someone embraces your work so strongly, especially when you believe that your project can inspire some change in the world. We're happy to have MAD on our side, from the moment we told them the story and showed them the work we've done so far, they've been fully on board and committed to the cause.
 
“With MAD supporting us every bit of the way, we're confident we'll end up making something provocative, inspiring, and — in true MAD fashion — authentic,” she added.
 
MAD World co-presidents Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, the two co-founders of MAD Solutions, lauded Morad as “a unique Arab filmmaker who built his own unique cinematic world through his captivating shorts. We are so excited to be working on his first feature along with the talented producer Sawsan Yusuf.”
 
Add MAD World co-president Colin Brown: “After MAD’s extraordinary sales and box office success last year with the Sudanese film GOODBYE JULIA, how gratifying it is to return to Cannes with another rare insight into African lives. Morad Mostafa blends a contemplative style of filmmaking with the excitement of a thriller to reveal the migratory crisis as experienced in Egypt – and provide a unique perspective on painful issues that resonate throughout the world.”
 
About MAD Solutions:
Founded in 2010, MAD Solutions boasts a rights library in excess of 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. MAD World, Arab cinema first global sales company, is the latest division to be launched by the company; its other divisions include MAD Celebrity, the Arab world’s leading talent promotion agency and MAD Distribution, the MENA region film distribution company that specialized in Arab-language feature films and shorts.