23rd edition November 20th to 28th, 2026
23rd edition
20 to 28 November, 2026
Egyptian filmmaker Marwan Hamed began his career with the award-winning short film Lilly. His multi-award-winning debut feature-length film, The Yacoubian Building, starring Adel Imam and Yousra, screened at the Festival de Cannes and the Berlin, Chicago, and Marrakech International Film Festivals, among others. His subsequent films include Ibrahim Labyad; The Blue Elephant, which won nine awards from the Egyptian Film Society and the Grand Nile Prize at the Luxor African Film Festival; The Originals; and Diamond Dust, which won the Grand Prize at the Casablanca Arab Film Festival; The Blue Elephant 2; and Kira & El Gin, which earned 10 Egyptian Film Society Awards and three Joy Awards. El Sett has its world premiere at the Marrakech International Film Festival.
From a small village in Egypt’s Nile Delta, Umm Kulthum rose against the constraints of a conservative society that silenced women. As a child, she sang disguised as a boy, facing rejection for a talent that would define generations. Her life was marked by sacrifice—forsaking love and motherhood to make her voice her only message and the stage her true home. Even in illness, she stood strong, her voice soaring above pain. El Sett captures the moment she became more than a singer: a national icon, a unifying symbol in hard times, and a timeless voice that shaped a nation’s soul.
Director Marwan Hamed
Producer Tamer Morsy, Ahmed Badawy
Screenwriter Ahmed Mourad
Cinematographer AbdelSalam Moussa
Production Designer Mohamed Atteya
Art Director Mohamed Atteya
Editor Ahmed Hafez
Sound Wayne Pashley
Music Hesham Nazih
Production Companies Synergy films, Film Square, Film Clinic, Luxor films, Oscar Studios, BigTime, Sponsored by GeA