MAD World, the international sales arm of Cairo-based MAD Solutions, has acquired worldwide sales rights to Egyptian drama Al Baraneya ahead of its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori section.
The deal gives MAD World responsibility for the film’s international sales as it prepares to make its debut at one of the world’s leading film festivals.
Al Baraneya marks the directorial debut of Dutch-Egyptian filmmaker Ashgan El-Hamus. Set in the village of Al Baraneya on the outskirts of Cairo, the 84-minute Arabic-language drama follows Amal, a pregnant young woman living with her extended family among jasmine fields.
The family’s close-knit way of life is disrupted when they receive an offer to sell their land. As tensions rise over whether to accept the offer, Amal begins to question the future she has always imagined for herself.
Her growing curiosity about life in Cairo is fuelled by the arrival of her cousin Rania, who returns from the capital with a very different perspective on life. Through Rania, Amal and her younger sisters are introduced to modern fashion, social media and stories of urban life. The possibility of selling the family property gradually becomes intertwined with Amal’s desire to leave the village and pursue a new beginning.
The film is a Dutch-Egyptian-Belgian-Saudi co-production, produced by Frank Hoeve for Amsterdam-based BALDR Film. Kesmat Elsayed of Berlin-based Seera Films and Eurydice Gysel of Brussels-based CZAR Film serve as co-producers.
The production received support from the Netherlands Film Fund, CoBO, the Belgian Tax Shelter, BNP Paribas Fortis Film Finance, Creative Europe MEDIA and the Red Sea Fund.
El-Hamus co-wrote the screenplay with Roelof-Jan Minneboo. The creative team includes cinematographer Douwe Hennink, editor Dieter Diependaele, sound designer Taco Drijfhout, production designer Clara Bragdon and costume designer Nada Adel.
The cast is led by Reem Amer as Amal, alongside Fatma Ibrahim El-Hamus, Nadia Ahmed El-Hadary, Asmaa Ahmed El-Hadary, Farida Alsayed El-Hamus, Fatma Farahat El-Hadary and Sara Ali El-Hadary.
Al Baraneya will have its world premiere on 2 September 2026 at the Venice Film Festival, with a press and industry screening at Sala Corinto. A public screening and Q&A will follow at Sala Perla on 3 September.
The film is being presented as a Special Event in the Giornate degli Autori section.
The project also has a deeply personal connection for El-Hamus. Al Baraneya is the village where her family originates, and her first visit to the community helped inspire the film’s exploration of family, belonging and changing aspirations.
Her experience of being welcomed into the village and its community provided a personal foundation for a story centred on the tensions between tradition and modernity, as well as the desire to remain connected to one’s roots while seeking new opportunities.
The acquisition represents the second collaboration between MAD World and Seera Films producer Kesmat Elsayed, following their work on Mohamed Rashad’s The Settlement, which was selected for the 2025 Berlinale.
With its Venice premiere providing an international launch platform, MAD World will now take Al Baraneya to global buyers as part of its growing slate of Arab and regional productions.
The film joins a number of Egyptian and Arab productions receiving international attention through major European film festivals, with its Venice debut expected to provide an important springboard for its global sales and distribution campaign.
