Cairo-based film and talent group Mad Solutions is launching a three-month, pan-Arab world film season called CineMAD.
Billed as a first-of-its-kind regional initiative, CineMAD will bring a raft of high-profile Arab films which have been feted on the festival circuit to cinemas across the Middle East and North Africa.
Titles in the selection include award-winning Oscar entries, Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36 (Palestine) Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia); breakouts by emerging talents such as Suzannah Mirghani’s Cotton Queen as well as titles from the 2024 circuit including Ghost Trail by Jonathan Millet. (scroll down for full list).
CineMAD trailer
The titles will receive either a wide, limited or one-night release, depending on where they are in their release cycle.
Mad Solutions co-founders Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab said they had created CineMAD to bridge the gap between festival acclaim and local audiences, with the initiative also aiming to foster collaboration between festivals, film funds, embassies, cultural institutions, and the wider creative community.
“CineMAD is about building a real ecosystem for Arab films — one that doesn’t end at the festival red carpet,” said Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, Co-Founders of MAD Solutions.
“It’s about connecting films, filmmakers, and audiences in a way that feels alive, inclusive, and cinematic. Partnering with strongly rooted cinema entities such as Premiere, Empire, Filmlab and Easy marks the beginning of a game-changing era for the Arab film industry. CineMAD represents the first chapter in a larger set of projects designed to anchor Arab festival titles firmly within mainstream cinema culture — and we are proud to present the best Arab festival films of 2025.”
CineMAD will launch in December 2025, with a special opening-night event in Cairo titled “Drop The Beat”, hosted at the Premiere Nile Cinema and sponsored by Red Bull.
The program will showcase short films that bridge cinema with the region’s fast-rising music scene: 60 Egyptian Pounds by Amr Salama, featuring Egyptian rap sensation Ziad Zaza; Smokey Eyes by Ali Ali, starring rap heavyweight Marwan Moussa; and Simo by Aziz Zoromba, featuring the hit track “Ghaba” by Marwan Pablo.
Full CineMAD Lineup:
• Palestine 36 by Annemarie Jacir — Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan
• The Voice of Hind Rajab by Kaouther Ben Hania — Tunisia
• Cotton Queen by Suzannah Mirghani — Sudan
• Once Upon a Time in Gaza by Tarzan and Arab Nasser — Palestine
• The Settlement by Mohamed Rashad — Egypt
• Yunan by Ameer Fakher Eldin — Palestine, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia
• My Father and Qaddafi by Jihan K — Libya
• Thank You for Banking with Us by Leila Abbas — Palestine
• The Vanishing by Karim Moussaoui — Tunisia
• Behind the Palm Trees by Meryem Benm’Barek — Morocco
• Where the Wind Comes From by Amel Guellaty — Tunisia
• Promised Sky by Erige Sehiri — Tunisia
• Algiers by Chakib Taleb Bendiab — Algeria
• A Bird From Paradise by Murad Ben Cheikh — Tunisia
• The Village Next to Paradise by Mo Harawe — Somalia
• Têtes Brûlées by Maja-Ajmia Yde Zellama — Belgium, Tunisia
• Ghost Trail by Jonathan Millet — France, Syria
• Exile by Mehdi Hmili — Tunisia
• Rat Hole by Mohamed El Samman — Egypt
• 50 Metres by Yomna Khattab — Egypt
• Dead Dog by Sarah Francis — Lebanon
• 60 Egyptian Pounds by Amr Salama — Egypt
• Smokey Eyes by Ali Ali — Egypt
• Simo by Aziz Zoromba — Egypt
