egyptian workplace thriller the settlement selected for official competition at 8th el gouna film festival

The only Egyptian film in this year's Berlinale Perspectives competition, THE SETTLEMENT is now set to screen for local audiences as it holds its Arab World premiere as part of the official competition of the eighth edition of the El Gouna Film Festival, running from October 16th to the 24th.

With MAD World handling global sales and MAD Distribution overseeing distribution and sales across the Arab World, the film’s screening dates at the festival are expected to be announced soon.

Commenting on the exciting news, director Mohamed Rashad said, “El Gouna Film Festival has successfully established itself as one of the most prominent film festivals in the region. It’s the ideal platform for Arab filmmakers — whether by shining a spotlight on their work or through the CineGouna Platform, which I personally benefited from last year when I participated with my film THE SETTLEMENT and received two grants that helped bring the film to life in the best possible way.”

“I’m truly thrilled to return to El Gouna for a second time, especially as my film will hold its Arab World premiere as part of the festival’s official competition,” he added.

Written and directed by Mohamed Rashad, THE SETTLEMENT held its world premiere to critical acclaim in the Perspectives section of this year’s Berlin International Film Festival — the only Egyptian film featured in that category; it later received its first accolade—the Audience Award at the sixth MiWorld Young Film Festival—before continuing its international journey with screenings at Italy’s African, Asian, and Latin American Film Festival (FESCAAL) and the Bolzano Film Festival Bozen.

Inspired by true events, the film follows two brothers — 23-year-old Hossam and his 12-year-old sibling Maro — living in a marginalized community in Alexandria. After their father dies in a workplace accident, the local factory offers them jobs as compensation, sidestepping legal accountability. As they settle into their new roles, the brothers begin to question the circumstances surrounding their father’s death.

Featuring rising talents Adham Shukr, Ziad Islam, Hajar Omar, Mohamed Abdel Hady, and Emad Ghoneim, the film is shot by cinematographer Mahmoud Lotfi and edited by Heba Othman, known for her work on the acclaimed Sudanese film GOODBYE JULIA.

A joint production between Egypt, France, Germany, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, THE SETTLEMENT is produced by Hala Lotfy of Hassala Films (Cairo), with co-producers Etienne de Ricaud of Caractères Productions (Paris), Kesmat Elsayed of Seera Films GmbH (Berlin), and ART (Jeddah). Ricaud’s recent film MY FAVORITE CAKE won both the FIPRESCI Prize and the Ecumenical Jury Prize at Berlinale, while Elsayed’s ABO ZAABAL 89 was awarded Best Feature Documentary at the 45th Cairo International Film Festival.

During its development phase, the film received support from a slew of prestigious international funding bodies, including the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund Script and Development Initiative along with Hubert Bals Plus Co-Production Minority Support, Doha Film Institute, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Red Sea Development Fund, FondsFunds Image De La Francophonie Fund, and El Gouna Film Festival’s CineGouna Funding.

Mohamed Rashad is an Egyptian director, writer, and producer who graduated from the University of Alexandria with a degree in civil engineering. After completing a two-year filmmaking workshop at the Jesuit Cultural Film School of Alexandria, he directed two short fiction films: FROM AFAR (2005) and MAXIM (2007). He later served as an assistant director on several notable films, including COMING FORTH BY DAY, directed by Hala Lotfy, with whom he co-founded Hassala Films.