Marwan Hamed
Marwan HAMED is an Egyptian filmmaker, born in Cairo, with over 25 years of experience in cinema. He began his career with the short film Lilly (2001), which won several international awards, including the Grand Prix du Public in Clermont-Ferrand and the Golden Tanit in Carthage.
In 2006, he directed his first feature film, The Yacoubian Building, one of the biggest productions in Egyptian cinema, starring Adel Imam and Yousra. The film was screened at major festivals, including Berlin, Cannes, London, Chicago and Marrakech, and won several awards, such as Best New Director at Tribeca and the Golden Eye at Zurich.
He followed with Ibrahim Labyad (2009), showcased at Montreal and São Paulo festivals. In 2014, he directed The Blue Elephant, adapted from Ahmed Mourad’s bestselling novel, which became both a critical and commercial success, winning nine awards from the Egyptian Film Society, the Grand Nile Prize at Luxor and the Jury Award in Brussels. He then directed The Originals (2017), winner of Best Director at Fantasporto, followed by Diamond Dust (2018), which won the Grand Prize at the Casablanca Arab Film Festival.
In 2019, he released The Blue Elephant 2, which broke box office records and won over 30 awards from Arab and Egyptian institutions. In 2022, he presented Kira & El Gin, the biggest Egyptian and Arab production to date, topping the box office and winning 10 Egyptian Film Society Awards and three Joy Awards.
Hamed received the Creative Achievement Award at the 6th El Gouna Film Festival, where he was appointed to the advisory board. Most recently, he completed shooting his upcoming film El Sett, a biopic about the legendary singer Umm Kulthum, which is currently in post-production.
Filmography
Lilly (2001, short), Omaret Yacoubian/The Yacoubian Building (2006), Ibrahim Labyad (2009), Tamantashar Youm/18 Days (2011), El Feel El Azrak/The Blue Elephant (2014), El-Asliyyin/The Originals (2017), Torab El Mas/Diamond Dust (2018), El Feel El Azrak 2/The Blue Elephant 2 (2019), Kira & El Gin (2022), El Sett (2025).
Marwan Hamed at IFFR
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Ibrahim Labyad
Marwan Hamed | 134' | Egypt | Dutch Premiere
A hoodlum’s climb through Cairo’s underworld is complicated by a love triangle in this gritty crime saga. -
The Blue Elephant 2
Marwan Hamed | 130' | Egypt | Dutch Premiere
The blissful life of a psychotherapist is threatened by a patient who might be haunted by a demon. -
The Blue Elephant
Marwan Hamed | 170' | Egypt | Dutch Premiere
An alcoholic psychotherapist attempts to decode a murder mystery in this stylish psychological noir. -
Diamond Dust
Marwan Hamed | 162' | Egypt | Dutch Premiere
A lonely pharmacist in a perilous quest to untangle the mystery behind the murder of his father. -
The Originals
Marwan Hamed | 125' | Egypt | Dutch Premiere
A family man gets recruited by a shady organisation claiming to be the guardians of the land in this ingenious satire. -
Kira & El Gin
Marwan Hamed | 175' | Egypt | No premiere
Action-packed anti-colonial epic about an underground resistance unit in Cairo in the 1920s. -
The Yacoubian Building
Marwan Hamed | 165' | Egypt | No premiere
A star-studded blockbuster about the interconnected lives of the tenants of a Downtown Cairo building. -
El Sett
Marwan Hamed | 155' | Egypt | European premiere
A graceful and lavish portrait of legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum. -
Kira & El Gin
Marwan Hamed | 175' | Egypt | European premiere
Action-packed anti-colonial epic about an underground resistance unit in Cairo in the 1920s.