Egypt Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Egyptian-Austrian director Abu Bakr Shawky, who in 2018 made a splash when his first feature “Yomeddine” had the rare distinction of making the competition cut for Cannes, is back on the festival circuit with Saudi-set adventure movie “Hajjan.” Shawky’s big-budget epic follow-up, which launched from Toronto’s Discovery section, is now premiering regionally at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, where it screened Monday to roaring applause as an out-of-competition gala. Somewhat similarly to “Yomeddine” – which involved the desert voyage of a leper, a donkey and a child – “Hajjan” also involves a journey across the desert.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor The third edition of the Red Sea Souk, the market arm of the Red Sea Film Festival, awarded its top prize of $100,000 to “The Return of the Prodigal Son” by Rani Massalha. Another eight feature projects and two TV series were awarded cash and in-kind prizes as part of the Red Souk Awards.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor MAD Celebrity — the talent management subsidiary of the pan-Arab film and TV company MAD Solutions — has signed Tunisian actor and writer Majd Mastoura, French Lebanese actor Isabelle Zighondi, and Saudi actor, producer and director Amawri Ezayah to the roster of its MAD Rising Celebrity unit, and visual artist, producer and DOP Mostafa El Kashef, who will be joining MAD Crew Celebrity. Mastoura is best known for his work on Mohamed Ben Attia’s “Hedi” — for which he received a Silver Bear for best actor from the Berlin Film Festival, making him the first-ever Arab actor to receive the award — and Léonor Serraille’s “Mother and Son,” which world premiered in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Some of the most powerful figures in Saudi film gathered at the Ritz Carlton in Jeddah for a cocktail party hosted by Film AlUla and Stampede Ventures in partnership with Variety last night. Figures such as Saudi producer and film industry pioneer Faisal Baltyuor and Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy were spotted along with Zeinab Abu Alsamh, general manager of MBC Studios Saudi Arabia. Stampede Ventures head Greg Silverman was celebrating the $350 million three-year deal just signed with Film AlUla, which will bring 10 projects to the region.

Karim Debbagh‘s leading Tangier-based line producer Kasbah Films has secured a raft of U.S. and U.K. projects that will lense in Morocco, including “Lords of War,” the sequel to “Lord of War,” starring Nicolas Cage as the world’s most notorious arms dealer.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Netflix has boarded Saudi Arabian multi-hyphenate Fatima Al-Banawi’s feature film debut “Basma” which tackles the theme of mental illness in her country. The groundbreaking film is set in Jeddah, the city on the Red Sea’s eastern shore where Saudi’s Red Sea Film Festival is currently underway.

Alissa Simon Film Critic Egypt’s Oscar submission “Voy! Voy! Voy!,” from director-writer-producer Omar Hilal, is a blackly comic look at migration viewed through the lens of a conman pretending to be visually impaired in order to play in the Blind Football World Cup. The fast-paced, entertaining film makes its Moroccan debut in the Special Screenings section of the Marrakech Film Festival. Following its September premiere in Egypt, it held the top box-office spot for two months and did remarkably well in the Gulf states.

tragic deaths — are again resurfacing thanks to the sixth and final season of “The Crown” on Netflix. Fayed, an Egyptian filmmaker, was the Princess of Wales’ last romantic partner before they both died in a Paris car crash in August 1997. Their time together was full of lavish yacht trips and jet setting around the world.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Untamed Talent, a management and production company led by former Mister Smith Entertainment executive Antone Saliba, is launching with the backing of Dubai-based Front Row Productions, a joint venture of leading Middle East distribution companies Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Empire Entertainment. Front Row Productions will provide capital and strategic value to support Untamed Talent’s goals to innovate new business models covering the South West Asia and North Africa region, the fastest-growing entertainment market in the world.

Former Mister Smith sales executive Antone Saliba has launched management and production company Untamed Talent, with the backing of Dubai-based Front Row Productions.

Alissa Simon Film Critic From its jaunty animated credits to its absurdly satisfying conclusion, “Voy! Voy! Voy!” is a saucy and blackly comic look at immigration. An entertaining first feature inspired by stranger-than-fiction actual events from seasoned adman Omar Hilal, here serving as director, writer and producer, Egypt’s official Oscar submission nabbed the top spot at the local box office for two months following its mid-September domestic release and also played well in the Gulf states.

story came to a close with the first part of Season 6 of “The Crown.” The first four episodes of the final season dropped earlier this month — and detailed her love affair with Egyptian billionaire Dodi Fayed (Khalid Abdalla), their untimely deaths and Dodi’s relationship with his father, Mohamed al-Fayed.However, the royal drama seems to be chock-full of historical inaccuracies — according to BBC correspondent and Mohamed’s onetime spokesman Michael Cole.Cole told the Sun how the show’s “malicious” scenes are hurtful to the reputations of the Princess of Wales (Elizabeth Debicki) and the film producer. The two died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.Cole insisted that producers of the series did “not respect Diana” and that the show is “a travesty of the truth” and portrays the couple’s serious romance as a short rendezvous.“It’s the complete opposite [of the truth], and completely cruel, and unnecessarily so, and they’ve got it wrong, because … it’s drama,” he said, adding that Diana and Dodi were “in love.”Mohamed (Salim Daw) is presented as a matchmaker between his son and the princess, appearing as a villain trying to savagely get them together for his personal gain.But this was far from real life.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor AGC Intl., the international sales and distribution arm of Stuart Ford’s fast-growing independent content studio AGC Studios, has picked up world rights from Image Nation Abu Dhabi, MBC Studios and VOX Studios on Yasir Al Yasiri‘s “HWJN,” and from O3 Medya and Dhafer L’Abidine’s Double A Productions on L’Abidine’s “To My Son.” Saudi fantasy romance ‘HWJN’ will open the Red Sea Film Festival on Nov. 30, while the emotional family drama “To My Son” will premiere in Red Sea’s Arab Spectacular section.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Stuart Ford’s independent content company AGC Studios is partnering with Egyptian star Mohamed Karim’s MK Global Entertainment to produce “Judgment of the Dead,” an English-language thriller steeped in ancient Egypt’s lore. Karim is known across the Middle East as a former host of talent show “The Voice of Arabia” and for roles in popular Ramadan soaps. He is concurrently pursuing a Hollywood career that has led to roles alongside Nicolas Cage in 2019 action movie “A Score to Settle” and with Bruce Willis in “A Day to Die.” U.S.

The Israeli military has said 10 Israelis and two foreigners being held hostage in Gaza have been released and arrived in Egypt on the fifth day of a temporary ceasefire.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, after being postponed due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, has announced it will hold a special edition from Dec. 14 to 21.

Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, which put its sixth edition on hold in October due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, has announced it will run a special edition from December 14 to 21.

A five-year-old British national has tragically died while on holiday in Egypt.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Diane Kruger, Bollywood star Ranveer Singh and Saudi actor-writer Abdullah Al-Sadhan are set to receive career honors at Saudi Arabia’s upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival, which has also announced its full jury roster. Joining Baz Luhrmann, who is presiding over the main Red Sea jury, are Swedish-American actor Joel Kinnaman (“Suicide Squad”); Freida Pinto (“Slumdog Millionaire”); Egyptian actor Amina Khalil; (“Grand Hotel”) and Spain’s Paz Vega (“Sex and Lucía,” “The OA”).

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival has unveiled the juries and honorees of its third edition which kicks off on Thursday in the port city of Jeddah.

Kate Valerio, a 31 year old bank worker, was shocked to discover her true heritage after taking a DNA test. Growing up in Pombal, Portugal, she always felt different from her blue-eyed, blonde-haired siblings due to her dark hair and green eyes.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff continued their visit in Los Angeles Thanksgiving week, making an unscheduled pit stop at the Venice Bakery for Small Business Saturday where the former addressed the current hostage exchange between Hamas and Israel.

Wowcher, a popular deals website, has dropped the price of its biggest-ever Mystery Holiday deal for Black Friday. For only £89, you could find yourself jetting off to top destinations like Dubai, New York, Cancun, Egypt, Las Vegas or even the Maldives. If you're not one of the lucky ones to get a long-haul trip, don't worry! You could still bag a short break to a European city like Venice, Rome, Amsterdam, Madrid, Porto, Lisbon, Krakow, Budapest, Prague, Lake Como or Disneyland Paris.This deal also includes beach holidays to places like Crete, Ibiza, Portugal, Cyprus, Malaga, Malta and more.

The first group of hostages are being released from Gaza, more than six weeks after the October 7 attack.

Napoleon, has arrived in cinemas in the UK and the US – but is drawing criticism for its historical inaccuracies.Historian Dan Snow recently pointed out the film’s errors in a TikTok video, correcting scenes shown in the trailer.The video didn’t go down too well with Scott, who responded in an interview with the New Yorker. “Get a life,” the director told Snow via the publication.

Rotterdam Film Festival Sets ‘Head South’ As Opening Film

Israel’s Cabinet has approved a ceasefire deal with Hamas that would bring a temporary halt to the devastating war that has stretched on for over six weeks.

Suki Waterhouse and Robert Pattinson are expecting! The “Daisy Jones & The Six” actress announced she’s pregnant while performing onstage at Corona Capital Festival in Mexico City on Sunday.In a fan video posted on X (formerly Twitter), Waterhouse — dressed in a glittery pink minidress — teased the baby news to the audience.“I’m extra sparkly today because I thought it might distract you from something else that’s going on,” she said. “I’m not sure if it’s working.”The crowd then erupted in applause as she began her next song.Waterhouse, 31, and Pattinson, 37, have been romantically linked since 2018.

A mum whose parents died after being poisoned by bed bug spray on a family holiday says she takes a scoop of their ashes with her on her own trips round the world.

A mum-of-three has spoke of her traumatic five-year battle to prove her parents were killed by bed bug spray in a hotel while on holiday in Egypt.