Notable attendees boost ‘The Settlement’ world premiere in Berlin

Mohamed Rashad’s Egyptian working-class thriller meets family drama

‘The Settlement’ held a successful world premiere at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival (February 13th – 25th), captivating audiences and critics alike.

Also at the screening were several notable attendees, like seasoned actor and President of the Cairo International Film Festival Hussein Fahmy, Egypt’s Ambassador to Germany Mohamed El Badri, Minister Plenipotentiary Youmna Osman, and a host of filmmakers from around the globe.

Following the screening, director Mohamed Rashad engaged the audience in a lively Q&A session, sharing insights into the film’s challenging five-year journey, his choice to cast fresh actors, and the choice to film in authentic locations.

The film also received an overwhelmingly positive response from international critics, who have praised its poignant storytelling and Rashad’s unique approach, with Massimiliano Schiavoni of Quinlan describing it as “an excellent film, capable of portraying its setting and its struggles in a way that feels more human than material,” and commending its focus on work-life, calling it “a great aspect that has been absent from Western cinema for decades.”

Additionally, Verdiana Paolucci of Cinematografe highlighted the director’s personal imprint that is evident in the film, describing his ability to portray his own experiences as “something unique and original.”

Inspired by real events, the film follows two brothers—23-year-old troublemaker Hossam and his 12-year-old brother Maro—living in a marginalized community in Alexandria. They are offered jobs by the local factory after their father’s untimely death in a workplace accident, as compensation for their loss in lieu of pursuing legal action. As they navigate their new roles, they begin to question whether their father’s death was truly accidental.

Prompted by a story shared with him by a law school graduate whose father died at a construction site, where the company pressured the family to waive their rights in exchange for offering the son a job in its legal department, Rashad — a native of Alexandria whose father worked in textile factories for over four decades — found the story a valuable opportunity to shed light on the safety issues prevalent in some factories and the illegal practices sometimes employed by their management.

The film stars emerging talents Adham Shukr, Ziad Islam, Hajar Omar, Mohamed Abdel Hady, and Emad Ghoneim; it is lensed by cinematographer Mahmoud Lotfi and edited by Heba Othman, whose credits include the acclaimed Sudanese film Goodbye Julia.

A joint production involving Egypt, France, Germany, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, The Settlement produced by Hala Lotfy of Hassala Films (Cairo) and co-produced by Etienne de Ricaud of Caractères Productions (Paris), Kesmat Elsayed of Seera Films GmbH (Berlin), and ART (Jeddah).

MAD World manages the film’s worldwide sales, while MAD Distribution oversees its distribution throughout the Arab World.

During its development phase, the film received support from a slew of prestigious international funding bodies, including the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund Script and Development Initiative along with Hubert Bals Plus Co-Production Minority Support, Doha Film Institute, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Red Sea Development Fund, FondsFunds Image De La Francophonie Fund, and El Gouna Film Festival’s CineGouna Funding.

Mohamed Rashad is an Egyptian director, writer, and producer who graduated from the University of Alexandria with a degree in civil engineering. After completing a two-year filmmaking workshop at the Jesuit Cultural Film School of Alexandria, he directed two short fiction films: From Afar (2005) and Maxim (2007). He later served as an assistant director on several notable films, including Coming Forth by Day, directed by Hala Lotfy, with whom he co-founded Hassala Films.

Etienne de Ricaud returned to the Berlinale with The Settlement after his film My Favorite Cake won the festival’s FIPRESCI Prize and the Ecumenical Jury Prize last year, and Kesmat Elsayed of Seera Films is known for Reporting A Revolution — which also premiered at the Berlinale — and the film Abo Zaabal 89, which won Best Feature Documentary at the 45th Cairo International Film Festival.

Producer Hala Lotfy’s feature debut Coming Forth By Day premiered at the Berlinale Forum in 2013 and won numerous awards, including the FIPRESCI Prize and Best Director from the Arab World at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. She also served as a jury member for the 70th Berlinale’s Best First Feature Award.