Pan-Arab distributor Mad Solutions and Egyptian author-screenwriter Haitham Dabbour's Irth platform have announced a strategic partnership at the Venice Film Festival to jointly develop, package and support film, television and other entertainment projects from across the Arab world. The deal matters because it combines Mad Solutions' established regional and international distribution network with Irth's writers' room model, aiming to strengthen the pipeline of quality Arab content reaching wider markets.

Cairo-based Mad Solutions, founded in 2010 by Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, operates specialist divisions covering international sales, regional distribution and talent management, while Irth, launched at the 2025 Red Sea International Film Festival, is the first collaborative writers' room bringing together writers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and beyond. The partners plan a pipeline of original Arabic projects alongside third-party development work, with first projects to be announced later. The news coincides with Mad Solutions' strong Venice presence this year, including two films on the Lido, "Al Baraneya" and "Conversations with the Sea," and its annual award at the Final Cut in Venice industry platform.