Cairo - Egypt |Monday, March 25, 2019:
Al Daif by director Hadi Elbagoury and writer Ibrahim Eissa will screen at the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam (March 27-31) on Thursday, March 28 at 07:00 PM, Netherlands Time (GMT +1). This coincides with the film's participation in the Official Competition of the Festival International du Cinéma Méditerranéen de Tétouan.
The Arab Film Festival Rotterdam aims to support Arab cinema and Arab filmmakers, as well as contribute to narrowing the arts and culture gap between Europe and the Arab world, and developing the art of cinema as a whole.
Produced by iProductions, Al Daif amassed more than EGP 8 million since its successful release in Egyptian theatres last January. It also received high critical acclaim by many critics.
Al Daif tells the story of a young man who visits a family during dinner, and then the events develop in a direction that no one expects. The film stars Khaled El Sawy, Ahmed Malek, Shereen Reda and Jamila Awad, alongside guest stars Maged El Kedwany, Mohamed Mamdouh, Arfa Abdel Rasoul and Mahmoud Al Lithy.
Al Daif marks the second collaboration between writer Ibrahim Eissa and iProductions after Mawlana. It is also the company's second time to work with Director Hadi Elbagoury after Hepta: The Last Lecture that is the highest-grossing romantic film in the history of Egyptian cinema with revenues more than EGP 27 million. This is the first collaboration between Eissa and Elbagoury.
During its world premiere, Al Daif won the Audience Award at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia, where it had a full-house screening. The film marked the sole Egyptian and African film in the official competition of the festival, and the first ever Egyptian feature film to get officially selected for the festival, which is one of the A-rated film festivals along with 14 other festivals around the world. Annually, the festival screens over 250 features, as well as 300 short and animated films throughout its different programs.
With a repertoire of successful films, iProductions co-produced Sheikh Jackson, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and was Egypt's official submission to the 2018 Academy Awards for Best Foreign-Language Film. The company also co-produced Mawlana, the first film to shed light on the world of religious preachers, who appear on TV channels, and the political pressure they face. Mawlana generated more than EGP 13 million in the Egyptian box office and was presented by the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) for Golden Globes consideration. iProductions co-produced a number of box office hits, including Hepta: The Last Lecture that topped the Egyptian box office with revenues surpassing EGP 27 million, becoming the highest-grossing romantic film in the history of Egyptian cinema. Lately, the company produced Gunshot by Kareem El Shenawy that screened at the El Gouna Film Festival, Malmö Arab Film Festival and the Cairo International Film Festival. Gunshot received huge success in Egyptian cinemas and was also released in six other Arab countries. Al Daif is the company's latest production.