Egyptian film “Mawlana” wins Circle Award in Washington DC

CAIRO - 4 May 2017: Egyptian box office hit film “Mawlana,” “The Preacher,” starring Amr Saad won the Circle Award at the Washington, D.C. Film Festival Monday.

“I consider it as a tribute to the great effort exerted by the film’s team to be screened in a flawless form cinematically and visually," the film’s writer, Ibrahim Eissa, said. “The prizes won by Mawlana emphasize the power of Egyptian cinema and its great impact on different people,” he added.

The film was awarded Best Film at Luxor African Film Festival two months ago, and Amr Saad was awarded Best Actor. Saad was also crowned Best Actor at Tetouan Film Festival.

“Mawlana,” adapted from a novel by renowned journalist Ibrahim Eissa, revolves around an influential religious preacher-cum-TV celebrity whose credibility is shaken when he gets close to politicians and security agencies.

“Mawlana” neared 13 million EGP ($716,456) in the domestic box office. It maintained the first rank in terms of movie earnings for several weeks and gained praise from both audience and critics despite the controversy surrounding the movie.
Starring Amr Saad, Dorra Zarrouk and Ahmed Magdy, the film was written by Ibrahim Eissa, directed by Magdy Ahmed Aly and produced by telecom tycoon Naguib Sawiris.