Mad World Boards Sales On Venice-Bound Egyptian Drama ‘Al Baraneya’
Mad World, the sales arm of Cairo-based Mad Solutions, has acquired worldwide sales rights to the Egyptian drama Al Baraneya ahead of its premiere in Venice's Giornate degli Autori sidebar. It marks the feature directorial debut of Dutch-Egyptian filmmaker Ashgan El-Hamus and follows Al Amal, a pregnant young woman in the Egyptian village of Al Baraneya, whose family's decision to sell their land threatens to upend long-held traditions and forces her to choose between her upbringing and a different future in the city.
The film is a Dutch-Egyptian-Belgian-Saudi co-production from Frank Hoeve of Baldr Film, Kesmat Elsayed of Seera Films and Eurydice Gysel of Czar Film, and draws on El-Hamus's own family experiences, casting her Egyptian relatives alongside actress Reem Amer. It is Mad World's second collaboration with Seera's Elsayed, following Mohamed Rashad's Berlinale 2025 title The Settlement, while Baldr Film brings a track record that includes the Oscar-nominated Soundtrack to a Coup d'État and Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine as Light.
- Mad World acquires worldwide sales rights to Egyptian drama Al Baraneya.
- Film is director Ashgan El-Hamus's feature debut, premiering in Venice.
- Dutch-Egyptian-Belgian-Saudi co-production explores tradition versus change in rural Egypt.
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Al Baraneya is an Egyptian drama set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival, in the Giornate degli Autori sidebar, a strand dedicated to independent and auteur-driven cinema. The story follows Al Amal, a pregnant young woman in an Egyptian village of the same name, whose family's decision to sell their land threatens local traditions and forces her to weigh her upbringing against a possible future in the city.
The film marks the feature directorial debut of Dutch-Egyptian filmmaker Ashgan El-Hamus, who drew on her own family's experiences and cast some of her Egyptian relatives alongside actress Reem Amer. It is a co-production spanning the Netherlands, Egypt, Belgium and Saudi Arabia, involving producers Frank Hoeve, Kesmat Elsayed and Eurydice Gysel.
The news itself concerns Mad World, the sales arm of the Cairo-based company Mad Solutions, which has taken on worldwide sales rights for the film. Such deals matter because they determine how a film reaches audiences and buyers beyond its home market, and the producers involved have prior credits including the Oscar-nominated Soundtrack to a Coup d'État and the Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine as Light.