MAD Solutions takes part in the 20th Festival du Cinéma Africain de Khouribga in Morocco (September 9-16, 2017), where two feature films of its distribution, A Day for Women by Kamla Abouzekri and Hedi by Mohamed Ben Attia, are vying for the festival's Grand Prize (Ousmane SEMBENE). At its 20th edition, the festival will celebrate its 40th anniversary, where the two films will compete with twelve other films, each representing an African country.

The screening of Hedi is going to witness the attendance of its leads Majd Mastoura and Rym Ben Messaoud, while Elham Shahin, the producer and lead of A Day for Women, and director Kamla Abouzekri are going to attend the screening of their film.

The Festival du Cinéma Africain de Khouribga was established in 1977. Together with its Grand Prize (Ousmane SEMBENE), the festival presents other awards such as the Jury's Special Prize (Le Prix Spécial du Jury), Award for Best Achievement (Le Prix de la Meilleure Réalisation), Scenario Award (Le Prix du Scenario), First Male Role Prize (Le Prix du 1er Rôle Masculin) (Mohamed Bastaoui), First Female Role Prize (Le Prix du 1er Rôle Féminin), Second Male Role Prize (Le Prix du 2ème Rôle Masculin), and the Second Female Role Prize (Le Prix du 2ème Rôle Féminin), where these awards bring the total value of about $43 thousand.

About Hedi:

Hedi follows Hedi, a young man of few words who doesn't expect much from the future and lets others make his big decisions for him. His mother is preparing his marriage to Khadija, but two days before that; Hedi meets Rim in the city of Mahdia, who captivates him by her free-spirit, and he finds himself obsessed with this new-born passion. The film stars Majd Mastoura, Rym Ben Messaoud, and Sabah Bouzouita.

Hedi is written and directed by Mohamed Ben Attia, and co-produced by Dora Bouchoucha, Nadim Cheikhrouha, along with Belgian producers and directors, the brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne (Two Days, One Night), while the distribution of the film will be handled by MAD Solutions.

Hedi has been to many international festivals winning several awards. At the beginning of 2016, itsdirector Mohamed Ben Attia won the Best First Feature Award, and its lead actor Majd Mastoura won the Silver Berlin Bear at the Berlinale, as an unprecedented achievement for an Arab film at the festival. Mastoura won the Best Actor award at the Critics Awards, offered by the Arab Cinema Center (ACC). The film also won the Golden Athena Award for Best Picture at the Athens International Film Festival, and the Lumiere Award for Best French-Language Film at the Lumiere Awards, France 2017, in additionto taking part in over 20 international festivals including; the BFI London Film Festival, Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), Cairo Cinema Days, Sudan Independent Film Festival (SIFF), and Festival International du Cinéma Méditerranéen de Tétouan.

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 film made its GCC premiere at the 13th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) in its Arabian Nights programme, along with other international festivals.

A Day for Women brings together a cast and crew of outstanding women, as it is produced by Elham Shahin, who also stars in the film, through her company Shahin Film, directed by Kamla Abouzekri, written by Hanaa Atiyah, DOP Nancy Abdel Fattah and Costume Designer Inas Shahin. The film stars Nelly Karim, Nahed El Sebai, Hala Sedqi, Ragaa Hussein, Shaimaa Seif, along with Mahmoud Hemida, Farouk Al Fishawy, Ahmad Al Fishawy, Eyad Nassar, and Ahmed Dawood. MAD Solutions handles the film's marketing and promotion in the Arab world.

Screening Times of MAD Solutions' Films at Festival du Cinéma Africain de Khouribga

Hedi: Wednesday, September 13 at 05:00 pm
A Day for Women: Thursday, September 14 at 05:00 pm