Naji Ismail
Directing
Biography
A director and producer from Upper Egypt, he graduated from the Higher Institute of Cinema and received a scholarship to study documentary filmmaking at George Washington University. In 2012, he founded Rahala Production and Distribution Company. He directed three short films, starting with the film 'OM AMIRA,' which participated in the official competition at the Berlin International Film Festival, then 'THE BUILDERS,' which was featured at the Dubai International Film Festival, and finally 'MAMA,' which participated in the Cairo International Film Festival in 2022. He is currently working on his first feature film project. He has produced several films, most notably 'WHEERE DID RAMSES GO?' by Amr Bayoumi. In 2024, he founded Rahala B, which focuses on everything related to the genres of horror, thriller, and fantasy.
Known For
A twenty-one-year-old girl is hiding a terrifying secret to protect herself and her brother.
Mama
In a certain moment, after the revolution that burst in Egypt in 2011 demanding the fall of Mubarak the man on top of the authority back then, Amr Bayoumi, the director, remembers that he documented the journey of the statue of Ramses II with his personal camera in 2006. The journey was from the Ramses square, one of the largest squares in Cairo, to his new place on the grand Egyptian Museum. It was the biggest transfer process Cairo streets ever witnessed, a journey that took over 12 hours in the charming Cairo atmosphere. Amr is inspired by this journey to tell the story of the relation between the authority and the people, and his personal relation with his father who was a symbol of superior authority in his youth.