The fourth Hollywood Arab Film Festival (HAFF), celebrating Arab Heritage Month from 9 to 13 April at Hollywood Universal Studio Cinema in California, will feature multiple Egyptian films, including Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo and The Tale of Daye’s Family.
Actor Ahmed Helmy will receive the Life Achievement Award, and actress Elham Shaheen will head the jury panel.
Directed by Egyptian filmmaker Karim El-Shenawy, The Tale of Daye’s Family (Daye: Seret Ahl El Daye) will open HAFF.
The Tale of Daye’s Family: Opening film
The Egyptian-Saudi co-production Daye, written by Haitham Dabbour, follows the story of an 11-year-old albino Nubian boy who dreams of going on a magical journey from south to north Egypt to pursue his dream of becoming a singer.
Daye, the first Egyptian film to feature an albino actor as the protagonist, had its world premiere as the opening film of the fourth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival and competed at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The film stars Saudi actress Aseel Omran, Sudanese actress Islam Mubarak, and Egyptian actors Haneen Said and Badr Mohamed.
El-Shennawy directed the highly successful TV series Lam Shamseya (2025), screened during Ramadan. The series shed light on the unique topics of child sexual abuse and family disintegration.
He also directed the film Gunshot (2018), which starred Ahmad El-Fishawi, Mohamed Mamdouh, and Rubi. Before that, El-Shenawy was an assistant director (AD) in several noteworthy productions, including Mohamed Diab’s Clash (2016), which garnered over a dozen awards, including four wins at the Carthage Film Festival (2016) and countless nominations, including at the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival.
Clash was Egypt’s nomination to the Academy Awards but was not shortlisted.
Seeking Haven For Mr. Rambo: Screened in the Narrative Feature section
Six films will compete in the upcoming edition of HAFF, including Seeking Haven For Mr. Rambo by Khaled Mansour.
The film had its world premiere in the Orizzonti Extra section at the 81st Venice International Film Festival (28 August—7 September 2024). It was then screened in numerous festivals and released commercially in Arab countries.
The drama film tells the story of Hassan (Essam Omar), a young man in his thirties who is forced to confront his past fears. He embarks on a journey of self-discovery, which includes a quest to save his dog and best friend, Rambo, from an unknown fate.
HAFF will also screen Mira Shaib’s Arze (Lebanon), Oday Rasheed’s If You See Something (Iraq), Hala Matar’s Electra (Bahrain), and Sina Mohammed’s Transient Happiness (Kurdistan).
Additionally, 16 short films will compete in the short film section, including the Egyptian film Wishes For My Heart (Sherine Diab), Jordanian films The Chant (May Ghouti) and Shadows (Rand Beiruty), Syrian film Weaning (Houssam Hamo), and Algerian film NYA (Imene Ayadi).
Ahmed Helmy: Life Achievement Award
During the festival’s activities, actor Ahmed Helmy will receive the Life Achievement Award, and his film Sorry for the Disturbance (2008) by Khaled Marei will be screened, followed by a discussion.
Helmy, a High Institute for Theatre graduate, is one of the region’s most popular artists.
He launched his career on television with the programme Laab Eyal (Kids’ Games). He rose to stardom in 1999 for his role in Sherif Arafa’s comedy Aboud Ala El-Hedoud (Aboud on the Borders), which starred Karim Abdel Aziz.
He has starred in over 25 successful feature films, including Sahar El-Layaly (2003), Saye Bahr (2004), Zaky Chan (2005), Alf Mabrouk (2009), Bolbol Hairan (2009), Horoob Etirari: Forced Escape (2017), and Scarecrow (2019), among many others. He also voices a storyteller in Amr Salama’s 2014 film La Moakhza (Excuse my French).
Helmy is a prominent promoter of children’s rights and often raises awareness on early childhood development issues in the region.
Elham Shaheen – Head of Jury
Egyptian actress Elham Shahine has been appointed the head of the jury for the narrative feature films programme.
Shaheen launched her career with director Kamal Yassin, who gave her a role in his play made for television, Hooreya Men Al Marikh (Mermaid from Mars).
She then went on to star in numerous TV series, including Akhu El Banat (Brother of the Sisters), A’al El-Bahr (The Ocean Said), Hatta la Yakhtaniq Al-Hob (So Love Doesn’t Suffocate), Nisf Rabia Al-Akhar (The Second Half of Spring), Layaly El-Helmeya (Nights of Helmeya), and Samhoony, Makansh Asdy (I’m Sorry, I Didn’t Mean To).
She also won many awards for her roles in The Gentle and Ya Dunia Ya Gharamy (Oh World, Oh my Love).
HAFF
The 4th edition introduces the new programme, Voices from Los Angeles, which includes screening six films by young filmmakers from American universities.
The festival launched the first edition of HAFF industry days, where five projects in development are competing: Egyptian film The Land Beyond by Nadine Salib, Iraqi film Madness and Honey Days by Ahmed Yassin, Sudanese film Blue Card by Mohamed El-Omda, Lebanese film Plus One by Zayn Alexander, and Palestinian film The Hearse to the Final House of Happiness by Wisam Al-Jafari.
Organized in the heart of Hollywood by the Hollywood Arab Film Festival Foundation, HAFF showcases Arab narrative, documentary, and short films.
Dozens of renowned filmmakers are expected to attend.
source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)
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ARAB / EGYPT