Egypt’s Ahmed Hafez takes Cannes Film Festival by storm with INSHALLAH A BOY movie

 

 

Prolific Egyptian editor Ahmed Hafez has been doing the rounds in the 76th session of the Cannes Film Festival, where his Jordanian feature film INSHALLAH A BOY competed in the Critics Week. He also participated in a panel at the MENA 360 conference.

 

Amjad Al-Rasheed’s INSHALLAH A BOY is Hafez’s third film to officially feature in Cannes after Mohamed Diab’s highly-acclaimed movie CLASH, which participated in the 69th session of Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, in addition to the movie 18 Days, which held its world premiere at the 64th edition.

 

The film garnered immediate widespread acclaim across its three screenings, receiving a standing ovation in its premiere before a lively Q&A with the crew.

 

Hafez also attended the invite-only MENA 360 conference, which was held on May 19th in collaboration with Neom Media Industries, Arab Cinema Center (ACC), and Marché du Film's Cannes Next Program.

 

At the first-ever MENA 360, executives and filmmakers from the region met to explore the best ways to procure finance, partners, locations, and talent for international filmmakers, producers, and enterprises to deliver a holistic overview of this marketplace of more than 500m voracious entertainment consumers, nearly half of which are under the age of 24.

 

Colin Brown from the ACC served as the emcee for the three-session conference, which saw remarkable success, featuring an impressive lineup of key industry players and speakers, including Wayne Borg, NEOM’s Managing Director of Media Industries, Entertainment, and Culture; Rula Nasser, CEO of The Imaginarium Films; CEO and Chairperson of Telfaz11 Alaa Fadan; and CEO of MAD Solutions Alaa Karkouti, among others.

 

Hafez is a film editor that garnered over 25 local and international awards and was accepted into the American Cinema Editors Society, making him the only Arab in the society.  

 

Hafez’s exceptional editing skills also qualified him to edit episodes three and four of Marvel's new series Moon Knight, which Egyptian director Mohamed Diab directed.  

 

His recent work includes the 2023 Ramadan season 15-episode drama hit TAHAT EL WESAYA starring Mona Zaki, 

 

Currently, Hafez has several projects in his pipeline including, Amr Salama's film SHAMAREKH, starring Asser Yassin and Amina Khalil; Omar Helal's VOY! VOY! VOY!; Shahid's debut musical series SUGAR; and the Shahid original THE SERIAL KILLER.