Egypt’s Film Clinic Headed to Venice Film Festival With Trio of Titles
Prominent Egyptian producer and distributor Mohamed Hefzy’s Film Clinic is headed to the Venice Film Festival with a trio of titles hailing from Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Algeria.
The strong Lido presence amounts to a first for the expanding shingle that is increasingly playing a key role in supporting emerging and independent talent from the entire MENA region.
Significantly, none of the Film Clinic titles launching from Venice are from Egypt.
Film Clinic, which recently opened an outpost in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, will be on the Lido with “Hijra” (pictured above) the second feature from Saudi filmmaker Shahad Ameen whose feminist fable “Scales” made a splash after launching from Venice in 2019.
“Hijra,” which will premiere in the Venice Spotlight section – that is part of the official selection – is a road movie centered on the bond formed between different generations of Saudi women during a journey across the desert.
Shot in a vast swathe of desert and in several Saudi cities and urban areas including Jeddah, Medina, AlUla and Neom, “Hijra” is a co-production between Beit Ameen for Production, the Iraqi Independent Film Center, and Ideation Studios (producer Faisal Baltyour), alongside co-producers Ayman Jamal, Mohamed Alawi, and Mohamed Hefzy through Film Clinic, as well as Human Film Ali Al-Daradji and Three Arts Abboud Ayyash and Sayed Abou Haidar, Film AlUla and the Red Sea Film Foundation.
Film Clinic Indie Distribution holds distribution rights for “Hijra” across the Arab world with CineWaves handling distribution in Saudi Arabia. International sales are being managed by CAA.
Then there are two Venice Critics’ Week entries that complete the Film Clinic trio. One is Sudanese-Russian filmmaker Suzannah Mirghani’s “Cotton Queen,” about a teenage girl who finds herself at the center of a power struggle to determine the village’s future when a young businessman from abroad wants to marry her. Film Clinic, which is a co-producer on “Cotton Queen” will be co-handling all MENA rights on this first work with Mad Solutions.
Film Clinic’s other Venice Critics’ Week title is Algerian director Yanis Koussim’s horror film “Roqia,” about a disciple of an old Raqi (a Muslim exorcist) who is worried that his master’s Alzheimer’s may unleash a long-contained evil. Film Clinic Indie Distribution has boarded “Roqia” for MENA distribution rights.
“For the first time ever, we come to Venice on the wings of three very diverse and talented filmmakers,” said Hefzy in a satement. He went on to note that Film’s Clinic’s Venice lineup comprises “Two female powerhouse directors Shahad Ameen and Suzannah Mirghani, behind “Hijra” and “Cotton Queen.”
“As for Yanis Koussim, whose film we are proud to be distributing in the region,” he added, “It proves that North African filmmakers can continue to elevate genre films into reaching audiences, this time via the oldest film festival in the world.”
“If anything, all three films say a lot about the evolution of our beloved Arab cinema,” Hefzy concluded.
