Marwan Hamed

Renowned Egyptian filmmaker Marwan Hamed has built a remarkable career spanning over 25 years, excelling in directing, film and television production, commercials, music videos, and short documentaries. He is best known for The Blue Elephant 1 & 2, The Yacoubian Building, Kira & El Gin, Diamond Dust, and Ibrahim Labyad—many of which have won prestigious awards and shattered box office records. A graduate of the High Cinema Institute in 1999, Hamed began his career as an assistant director to the esteemed Sherif Arafa before making his directorial debut with the short film Li Li, based on a story by Youssef Idris. The film was met with critical acclaim, winning numerous international awards, including the Prix du Public at the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, the Golden Award at the Carthage Film Festival, and the Silver Prize at the Milano Film Festival for African Cinema. In 2006, Hamed directed his first feature film, The Yacoubian Building, a screen adaptation of Alaa Al-Aswany’s best-selling novel, written by late screenwriter Wahid Hamed. The film, then the most ambitious Egyptian production, featured an all-star cast, including Adel Imam, Yousra, and the late Nour El-Sherif. Premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival, it went on to screen at renowned festivals such as AFI Fest, the London Film Festival, and the Marrakech Film Festival. The film earned multiple accolades, including Best New Narrative Director at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Bronze Award at the Montreal World Film Festival, and the Grand Prix at the Institut du Monde Arabe. To this day, it remains a cinematic landmark and a subject of societal discourse. Hamed’s next film, Ibrahim Labyad, was a gripping slum thriller starring the late Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Ahmed El-Sakka, and Hend Sabry. It was later showcased at the Montreal World Film Festival. A Streak of Blockbusters Hamed gained further acclaim through his adaptations of bestselling novels, particularly those by Ahmed Mourad. His first adaptation, The Blue Elephant, became a massive success, earning multiple awards, including the Special Jury Award at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. Its highly anticipated sequel then became the highest-grossing film in Egyptian cinema history in 2019, earning over $6.3 million. Continuing his collaborations with Mourad, Hamed directed The Originals, starring Maged El-Kedwani and Menna Shalaby, which earned him Best Director at the 38th Fantasporto International Film Festival in Portugal. He then helmed Diamond Dust, a crime drama starring Asser Yassin, El-Kedwani, and Shalaby. Their latest collaboration, Kira & El Gin, an epic historical drama based on Mourad’s novel 1919, quickly became an audience favorite. It is now the second highest-grossing film in Egyptian history, surpassing The Blue Elephant with over $6 million in revenue. The film, regarded as the largest production in Egypt and the Arab world, was featured in the Limelight Section of the Rotterdam International Film Festival and won Best Film at the Joy Awards. Currently, Hamed is working on his next project, El Sett, a Synergy production about the legendary Um Kalthoum, starring Mona Zaki and Mohamed Farrag.