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Egyptian workplace thriller THE SETTLEMENT to screen at African, Asian, and Latin American Film Festival
16 March 2025
Following its triumphant world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it garnered widespread critical acclaim, Mohamed Rashad's gripping Egyptian workplace thriller THE SETTLEMENT is poised to captivate audiences yet again as it competes in the official competition of the African, Asian, and Latin American Film Festival (FESCAAL) in Italy from March 21st to 30th.
Throughout the festival's runtime, the film is set to have two screenings: the first at 7 pm on March 27th at Cineteca Milano Arlecchino, and the second at 9 pm on March 28th at Cinema Teatro Cristallo in Cesano Boscone.
After each screening, director Mohamed Rashad will host an exclusive Q&A session, where he will delve into the filmmaking process and share intriguing behind-the-scenes stories that brought this compelling narrative to life.
Inspired by real events, THE SETTLEMENT follows two brothers — 23-year-old troublemaker Hossam and his 12-year-old brother Maro — living in a marginalized community in Alexandria who are offered jobs by the local factory after their father's untimely death in a workplace accident as compensation for their loss in lieu of pursuing legal action. As they navigate their new roles, they begin to question whether their father’s death was truly accidental.
Prompted by a story shared with him by a law school graduate whose father died at a construction site, where the company pressured the family to waive their rights in exchange for offering the son a job in its legal department, Rashad — a native of Alexandria whose father worked in textile factories for over four decades — found the story a valuable opportunity to shed light on the safety issues prevalent in some factories and the illegal practices sometimes employed by their management.
The film stars emerging talents Adham Shukr, Ziad Islam, Hajar Omar, Mohamed Abdel Hady, and Emad Ghoneim; it is lensed by cinematographer Mahmoud Lotfi and edited by Heba Othman, whose credits include the acclaimed Sudanese film GOODBYE JULIA.
A joint production involving Egypt, France, Germany, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, THE SETTLEMENT is produced by Hala Lotfy of Hassala Films (Cairo) and co-produced by Etienne de Ricaud of Caractères Productions (Paris), Kesmat Elsayed of Seera Films GmbH (Berlin), and ART (Jeddah). MAD World manages the film's worldwide sales, while MAD Distribution oversees its distribution throughout the Arab World.
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.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS:
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.
Etienne de Ricaud returned to the Berlinale with THE SETTLEMENT after his film MY FAVORITE CAKE won the festival’s FIPRESCI Prize and the Ecumenical Jury Prize, and Kesmat Elsayed of Seera Films is known for REPORTING A REVOLUTION — which also premiered at the Berlinale — and ABO ZAABAL 89, which won Best Feature Documentary at the 45th Cairo International Film Festival.
Producer Hala Lotfy's feature debut COMING FORTH BY DAY premiered at the Berlinale Forum in 2013 and won numerous awards, including the FIPRESCI Prize and Best Director from the Arab World at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. She also served as a jury member for the 70th Berlinale’s Best First Feature Award.
Throughout the festival's runtime, the film is set to have two screenings: the first at 7 pm on March 27th at Cineteca Milano Arlecchino, and the second at 9 pm on March 28th at Cinema Teatro Cristallo in Cesano Boscone.
After each screening, director Mohamed Rashad will host an exclusive Q&A session, where he will delve into the filmmaking process and share intriguing behind-the-scenes stories that brought this compelling narrative to life.
Inspired by real events, THE SETTLEMENT follows two brothers — 23-year-old troublemaker Hossam and his 12-year-old brother Maro — living in a marginalized community in Alexandria who are offered jobs by the local factory after their father's untimely death in a workplace accident as compensation for their loss in lieu of pursuing legal action. As they navigate their new roles, they begin to question whether their father’s death was truly accidental.
Prompted by a story shared with him by a law school graduate whose father died at a construction site, where the company pressured the family to waive their rights in exchange for offering the son a job in its legal department, Rashad — a native of Alexandria whose father worked in textile factories for over four decades — found the story a valuable opportunity to shed light on the safety issues prevalent in some factories and the illegal practices sometimes employed by their management.
The film stars emerging talents Adham Shukr, Ziad Islam, Hajar Omar, Mohamed Abdel Hady, and Emad Ghoneim; it is lensed by cinematographer Mahmoud Lotfi and edited by Heba Othman, whose credits include the acclaimed Sudanese film GOODBYE JULIA.
A joint production involving Egypt, France, Germany, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, THE SETTLEMENT is produced by Hala Lotfy of Hassala Films (Cairo) and co-produced by Etienne de Ricaud of Caractères Productions (Paris), Kesmat Elsayed of Seera Films GmbH (Berlin), and ART (Jeddah). MAD World manages the film's worldwide sales, while MAD Distribution oversees its distribution throughout the Arab World.
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.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS:
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.
Etienne de Ricaud returned to the Berlinale with THE SETTLEMENT after his film MY FAVORITE CAKE won the festival’s FIPRESCI Prize and the Ecumenical Jury Prize, and Kesmat Elsayed of Seera Films is known for REPORTING A REVOLUTION — which also premiered at the Berlinale — and ABO ZAABAL 89, which won Best Feature Documentary at the 45th Cairo International Film Festival.
Producer Hala Lotfy's feature debut COMING FORTH BY DAY premiered at the Berlinale Forum in 2013 and won numerous awards, including the FIPRESCI Prize and Best Director from the Arab World at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. She also served as a jury member for the 70th Berlinale’s Best First Feature Award.
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