{"id":211733,"date":"2025-10-16T15:29:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T13:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iffr.com\/en\/?p=211733"},"modified":"2025-10-23T15:14:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T13:14:37","slug":"blog-marwan-hamed-retrospective-iffr-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iffr.com\/en\/blog-marwan-hamed-retrospective-iffr-2026","title":{"rendered":"Marwan Hamed retrospective set for IFFR 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is mounting a Marwan Hamed retrospective as one of its Focus strands for the 2026 edition, in celebration of the prolific Egyptian director\u2019s career. On the occasion of  the European premiere of his upcoming Umm Kulthum biopic El Sett<\/strong> <\/em>starring Mona Zaki (Flight 404<\/strong>) and Mohamed Farag (Voy!Voy!Voy!<\/strong>) \u2013 which will screen in the Limelight strand of IFFR 2026 \u2013 the programme will feature his works spanning the past two decades. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Hamed has repeatedly set box office records in his home country \u2013 most recently with historical epic Kira & El Gin<\/strong> <\/em>(also in selection at IFFR 2023), which became the biggest financial success in Egyptian cinema history at the time of its release, bringing post-pandemic audiences back to theatres in droves. From Hamed\u2019s feature debut in 2006 with screen adaptation of Alaa Al Aswany\u2019s novel The Yacoubian Building<\/strong>, which sees him directing a screenplay written by his late father Wahid Hamed, he has made blockbuster films which have garnered both significant commercial and artistic recognition. Both of these titles will screen in the upcoming Focus programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marwan Hamed director’s portrait<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The retrospective will be the first of its kind of Hamed\u2019s work \u2013 and will also include the two instalment mystery thriller The Blue Elephant<\/strong> <\/em>and <\/em>The Blue Elephant 2<\/strong>, hit Egyptian underworld feature Ibrahim Labyad<\/strong>, <\/em>corruption drama Diamond Dust<\/strong> \u2013 based on the Arab noir novel by frequent collaborator Ahmed Mourad,<\/em> and the phenomenal <\/em>El-Asliyyin (The Originals)<\/strong>, <\/em>Mourad\u2019s first screenplay \u2013 about a bank employee who is made redundant and then gets a phone call which changes his life forever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Sett<\/strong> is the first major biopic of the late musical icon and actress Umm Kulthum, a national treasure of Egypt and recognised as the most influential singer from the Arab world. Known as the \u201cfourth pyramid\u201d of Egypt, she led a life of epic proportions, her rise and significance inexorably tied to that of the nation as it rebuilt following the fall of British colonial rule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Film still: El Sett<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Vanja Kaludjercic, Festival Director of IFFR, said: \u201cMarwan Hamed is the most fascinating director to emerge from Egypt’s ever-fertile film culture in the last quarter century. Spectacle is his mode of choice, subversive intelligence his speciality. Hamed knows how to entrance his audience with grand emotions, extraordinary sights and outstanding performances by his stars \u2013 just as he knows how to make people look critically at society and the nation’s history. With widely acclaimed works like his debut, The Yacoubian Building <\/strong>(2006), the gangster epic Ibrahim Labyad<\/strong> (2009), or the highly original crime movies The Blue Elephant <\/strong>(2014) and El-Asliyyin <\/strong>(2017), Hamed showed his excellence in adapting major literature and smart genre fare alike. With his revolutionary heritage extravaganza, Kira & El Gin <\/strong>(2022), we introduced Hamed to Rotterdam audiences. The European premiere of his latest major work, the Umm Kulthum biography El Sett<\/strong> (2025), is the perfect occasion to present a complete retrospective of his work for cinema \u2013 the first of its kind outside Egypt.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marwan Hamed said, \u201cI would like to thank the Rotterdam Film Festival for this great honour. I\u2019m very grateful to the festival for hosting the European premiere of El Sett <\/strong>and for showcasing my work, it is a great privilege. I would also like to thank the festival and all the artists I\u2019ve worked with over the past years to achieve these films.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, the festival has confirmed key dates for the upcoming edition, available below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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