Egyptian director Mohamed Rashad’s social thriller The Settlement, marking his feature filmmaking debut, has been honoured with the Audience Award at the MiWorld Young Film Festival. This festival highlights films from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, aiming to promote intercultural dialogue and global awareness through cinematic storytelling.
Inspired by true events, The Settlement centres around two brothers, 23-year-old Hossam and his 12-year-old sibling Maro, who work at a local factory after their father dies in a workplace accident. Under pressure to abandon their legal rights, they navigate their new reality while confronting unsettling truths about the circumstances surrounding their father’s death.
Rashad, who hails from Alexandria and has personal ties to the textile industry through his father’s 40-year career, was motivated by a real-life story of a law graduate whose family faced similar pressures after a tragic event. This inspiration led him to explore critical themes such as workplace safety violations and labour exploitation within a gripping narrative.
The film features performances by Adham Shukr, Ziad Islam, Hajar Omar, Mohamed Abdel Hady, and Emad Ghoneim. Mahmoud Lotfi handles the film’s cinematography, while editing is done by Heba Othman, known for her contribution to the acclaimed Sudanese film Goodbye Julia. Produced through a collaborative effort among teams from Egypt, France, Germany, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, The Settlement is spearheaded by Hala Lotfy of Hassala Films (Cairo), along with co-producers Etienne de Ricaud of Caractères Productions (Paris), Kesmat Elsayed of Seera Films GmbH (Berlin), and ART (Jeddah).
MAD World manages worldwide distribution, and MAD Distribution oversees its release in the Arab region. Throughout its development, The Settlement received backing from various international funding organisations, including the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, the Hubert Bals Fund Script and Development Initiative, Hubert Bals Plus Co-Production Minority Support, Doha Film Institute, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Red Sea Development Fund, Fonds Image De La Francophonie, and the CineGouna Platform at El Gouna Film Festival.
